Bantam Spectra (Paperback), ISBN 0553379194

Twenty-five years ago the war against Chytrine came to a stalemate, and the heroes who fought so valiantly to defeat the sorceress succumbed to her evil power, abandoning their humanity. Chytrine and her new generals wait patiently in the northern reaches of her domain of Aurolan, building up her strength and massing her armies to once again invade the world.

Will, a thief in the rough and tumble district known as the DimanDowns in the grandest of all human cities, Yslin, dreams of creating a legend for himself, unaware of the events that conspire against him. When he steals a sacred artifact from the exiled Vorquelves, who share the decrepit ghetto with the dregs of human society, Will becomes entangled in events far beyond the control of any mortal man let alone a barely grown boy.

Guided by the famous hero Kedyn's Crow and the harsh uncompromising Vorquelf Resolute, Will sets out on a journey to find out whether he is the one prophesied to succeed where his predecessors failed. But Chytrine, well aware of Will's presence, sends her Dark Lancers to end the threat posed by his very existence.

The generation that grew to adulthood in the quarter century of uneasy peace considers itself ready and able to fight the fight that the old heroes could not. But can the military mind of Alexia, the magic of Kerrigan Reese and the destiny of one young man truly turn the tide?

While Michael Stackpole's Fortress Draconis does not really tread any new ground with its formulaic background (group of individuals must band together to stop terrible, evil power out to conquer the world) he does provide us with a well-told tale worthy of the title "epic fantasy." Truly one of Stackpole's best.

Ted Odell

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