The Fire Duke
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- £4.49
Publisher Description
When strange wolf-like creatures kidnap his girlfriend and his mother, Torrie and his friend Ian Silverstein join Torrie’s father Thorsen and the mysterious “Uncle Hosea” on a rescue mission via a passageway to the exotic world from which Hosea and Thorsen had fled two decades earlier. Once entering the world of The Hidden Ways, they must battle gods, monsters and men, including the sinister Fire Duke, who seeks ultimate power and control of magical gems that can destroy the universe. Intrigue, swordplay and courage all loom large in this first novel of The Keeper of the Hidden Ways trilogy by bestselling author Joel Rosenberg, called by Mike Resnick “a major star in the fantasy firmament.”
on THE FIRE DUKE:
"A taut, gripping narrative . . . Combin[es] a firm, practical grip on reality with an effective blend of Irish and Norse mythologies in a taut, gripping narrative."
- Kirkus Reviews
"Exuberant... derring-do"
- Publishers Weekly
"An excellent and intelligent fantasy adventure."
- Booklist
“Rosenberg tells a great story . . . it’s time to sit down and be royally entertained.”
- Raymond E. Feist
"Unpretentious fun."
- El Paso Times
“A sprawling portrait on a vast canvas . . . readers will be waiting anxiously for a return trip to this world of gods and monsters.”
- Orlando Sentinel
on JOEL ROSENBERG:
“A major star in the fantasy firmament”
- Mike Resnick, author of STALKING THE UNICORN
“One of the few writers I deliberately seek out . . . His splendid stories are intricate and fast-paced and exciting.”
- Dennis L. McKiernan, author of VOYAGE OF THE FOX RIDER
“If I see a book with Joel Rosenberg’s name on it, I buy it . . . His plots are fast-moving, meticulously crafted . . . his works are page-turners from first to last.”
- S.M. Stirling, author of MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA
“One of the leading lights in fantasy, Joel Rosenberg burns as brightly as ever.”
- William R. Forstchen
“Joel Rosenberg writes fantasy rich with intelligent humor and gritty, well-researched detail.”
- Janny Wurts
“Joel Rosenberg is one of the emerging talents in our field today!”
- Raymond E. Feist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rosenberg is best known for his popular Guardians of the Flame series, which postulated a crossover between our universe and a dungeons-and-dragons-style world. Here, he creates a new crossover world, this one based on a rambling version of watered-down Norse mythology. Torrie Thorsen, Ian Silverstein and Maryanne (Maggie) Christensen are college buddies and expert fencers who go vacationing together at the Thorsen residence in North Dakota. A wolf hunt draws Torrie, Ian and the rest of the menfolk away from the house, allowing Maggie and Torrie's mother to be kidnapped by agents of the Fire Duke. To rescue them, Ian must join forces with Torrie's Uncle Hosea, a mysterious and powerful being who helps the young man channel his latent anger at his abusive father into a positive and deadly force. This paean to masculinity, swordsmanship and the Norse way is often hard to take seriously-as when Torrie cheerfully notes that he was more frightened the first time he tried to slip his hand into a girl's bra than he is facing the deadly Fire Duke. Still, armchair Errol Flynns and latter-day Vikings will probably enjoy all the exuberant, if boyish, derring-do.
