"Entertaining sword and sorcery"
In the Kingdom of Avornis, two monarchs sit on the diamond
throne; King Lanius has royal blood running through his
veins while King Grus is a commoner who seized power when
the young ruler's mother tried to kill him through
sorcery. King Grus forced Lanius to marry his daughter to
further consolidate his base of power and to keep the
young monarch on a very short leash. Both men want what
is best for the realm so when the Banished One gains
dominion over one of the city-states of Chernagor, King
Grus gathers his armies to topple the ruler who worships
the Banished One. The army of Avornis breaks off its northern attack of the
Nishevetz to confront the threat of the nomadic Menteshe
who worship the Banished One; who have the magical
artifact the Scepter of Mercy that rightfully belongs to
the Kings of Avornis. The Mentshe have invaded the
southern portion of the realm. Kings Grus and king Lanius
want them out before they turn the people into mindless
thralls. Book two of THE SCEPTER OF MERCY is an entertaining sword
and sorcery novel that gives equal attention to the
characters as it does to the action scenes. The
relationships between the two kings evolve over the years
so that one is accepting of the other. The magical duels
between good and evil sorcerers are very colorful and
imaginative but it is the not so mundane skirmishes that
are fascinating because they are so detailed the audience
can imagine being in the midst of the battlefield. Dan
Chernenko's star is on the rise. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted March 15, 2004
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