The Lady
-
- $16.99
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
Possessed by a ghost who feeds on death, the undying assassin Ahjvar the Leopard has been captured by the Lady of Marakand, enslaved by necromancy to be captain of her Red Masks. His shield-bearer Ghu, a former slave with an uncanny ability to free the captive dead, follows Ahjvar into the war-torn lands of the Duina Catairna to release him, even if that means destroying what is left of Ahj’s tormented soul. Deyandara, the last surviving heir of the Catairnan queen, rides into a land ravaged by disease and war, seeking the allies she abandoned months before, though they have no hope of standing against the army led by the invulnerable Red Masks of Marakand and the divine terror of the Lady. In the city of Marakand, former enemies ally and old friends seek one another’s deaths as loyalists of the entombed gods Gurhan and Ilbialla raise a revolt, spearheaded by the Grasslander wizard Ivah, the shapeshifting Blackdog, and the bear-demon Mikki. The Lady’s defenses are not easily breached, though, and the one enemy who might withstand her, the Northron wanderer Moth, bearer of the sword Lakkariss, has vanished.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The action continues unabated in this dashing, magic-filled sequel to The Leopard. Outside the crossroads city of Marakand, Red Masks have fallen in a skirmish with caravaneers aided by an outland wizard and magical creatures in the form of a bear and a black dog. The Red Masks, once thought to be invulnerable servants of the goddess called the Lady of Marakand, are revealed to be animated corpses and she a necromancer. Away to the east, the enslaved Leopard, an assassin possessed by a dead demigod, leads the Lady's army against the hill folk of the Praitannec kingdoms. Deities, demons, devils, and wizards stalk the pages alongside human heroes and others not so easily defined. Some of the magic is as quick as thought, while other magic requires lengthy rituals that border on poetry. Johansen has found a winning combination: the modern epic fantasy penchant for a cast of thousands and the golden age feeling of a tale of Conan or Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser dueling with gods gone mad.
