(pb; 2023: third novel in the
Edomia series; aka Rogues of Edomia: Tales from the Edomian Mythos (Book 3))
From the back cover
“Forced against his will to take a risky job with scant hope of reward, diminutive swindler Drogn the Magnificent has little to rely on save his own uniquely twisted set of wits. Drawing on a shallow wellspring of dubious talent, the fast-talking dwarf must find a way to convince a brazen would-be queen to give up her most cherished ambitions: It’s either that or Drogn’s head when Svrosh, the ruthless Serpent-Prince, demands his pound of flesh.
“Architect of the coup that
marked the falloff Taugwadeth, the traitorous Stethine k’ Flerion is holed up
with her henchmen in the fortress-like Library of Rvnshrah. Now Drogn and his
companions must find a way to infiltrate the citadel, discover the location of
a priceless book of ancient lore, and get close enough to Stethine to
administer a dose of numbing spider venom, the better to deliver her into the
vile Prince-Regent’s clutches. Along with Vasto the giant (Svrosh’s musclebound
enforcer), stolid farmboy Bymno, two-headed scholar-bird Klevix-Wrder, and
lovely outworlder Gemma (a refugee from Medieval Scotland where she was once
accused of witchcraft), Drogn will face more than his share of hardships and
horrors, wonders, perils, and galling inconvenience in pursuit of liberty,
respect, and his own dreamed-of life of ease.”
Review
Rogues, a
relatively short and light Edomia novel, is an entertaining, erudite and straightforward
tale, a side-work that serves as a bridge to the forthcoming Empires of
Edomia—Rogues maintains the themes, engaging characters and feel of
the previous Edomia books while being less plot- and character-intricate (it
helps that the first two books did the heavy lifting of being full-on world-builders),
making Rogues lighter on its story-telling feet. Excellent
series for those who like fantasy genre brains, brawn, humor and a touch of sex, a book worth
owning and revisiting (re-reading) at a later date, when all the books are published.
