The fourth volume in John Norman's epic Telnarian Histories describes
the continuing rise to power of an unsung warrior thrown into the
maelstrom of ambition, treachery, and violence that is the galactic
empire
When Filene, a former noblewoman masquerading as a slave, attempts to
assassinate the ascendant tribal king, Ottonius, she fails and becomes
fully enslaved. The story of her education in proper submission is told
in counterpoint to the tale of the powerful but primitive warrior who
finds himself drawn into intrigues affecting the destiny of a threatened
and crumbling empire.
This ambitious novel, written on an interstellar scale, follows the
latest adventures of a man who has fought and killed his way out of
obscurity to become a newly crowned king. As events unfold, he finds
himself on a bloody and violent path that may lead to the imperial
throne itself.