War had engulfed the whole world. The imposter imperor ruling in Hub was
the tool of the paranoid and almighty sorcerer Xinixo, who wielded the
combined power of thousands of sorcerer slaves. And yet, despite his
seeming omnipotence, the pathetic few who resisted him were still at
liberty, even making a little progress. Xinixo's prime foe, Rap of
Krasnegar, had rallied troll sorcerers to the cause and was about to try
enlisting the incomprehensible elves. Fortunately, for his sanity, he
did not know that his daughter, Kadie, had been carried off by goblin
invaders or that his son, Gath, was heading for stark Nordland to deal
with the fearsome jotnar, or that his wife, Inos, was in Guwash,
negotiating with gnomes. Shandie, the rightful imperor, was with her,
unaware that his wife, Impress Eshiala, believed him dead and had fled
with Signifer Ylo, that notorious rake. And none of them knew about the
sorcerers of Thume, especially the rebel pixie girl, Thaïle, who chafed
against the secret binding of a thousand years. But the odds were still
impossible and Longday was fast approaching. The sorcerers of the world
foretold blood on Longday. Dave Duncan, born in Scotland in 1933, is a
Canadian citizen. He received his diploma from Dundee High School and
got his college education at the University of Saint Andrews. He moved
to Canada in 1955, where he still lives with his wife. He has three
grown children and four grandchildren. He spent thirty years as a
petroleum geologist. He has had dozens of fantasy and science fiction
novels published, among them A Rose-Red City, Magic Casement, and The
Reaver Road, as well as a highly praised historical novel, Daughter of
Troy, published, for commercial reasons, under the pseudonym Sarah B.
Franklin. He also published the Longdirk series of novels, Demon Sword,
Demon Knight, and Demon Rider, under the name Ken Hood. In the fall of
2007, Duncan's 2006 novel, Children of Chaos, published by Tor Books,
was nominated for both the Prix Aurora Award and the Endeavour Award. In
May 2013, Duncan, a 1989 founding member of SFCanada, was honored by
election as a lifetime member by his fellow writers, editors, and
academics. His website is www.daveduncan.com.
