Guardians of the Lost: Volume Two of the Sovereign Stone Trilogy (Sovereign Stone Series)

For two centuries the portion of the great Sovereign Stone belonging to the humans of Loerem was lost from sight and memory. But there are those who dare never forget ... A magical relic has been miraculously recovered — and the battle for the future of Loerem begins. It is a nightmare conflict that will ensnare dwarf, human, elf, and orken beings, as the immortal dark lord Dagnarus launches terrible war from the blackest depths of the Void. And now heros must emerge from the most unlikely corners of the world to deny Dagnarus the awesome power of the Stone — or suffer the hideous damnation of his hellish reign. Publishers Weekly Bestsellers Weis and Hickman (Dragonlance series, etc.) deliver a solid tale peopled by familiar figures (some of whom are Not What They Seem) in the second volume of their latest fantasy trilogy. Two hundred years after the action in Well of Darkness, the world of Loerem (conceived by fantasy artist Larry Elmore, who provides the stunning jacket art work) is plunged into war. Old hatreds and new combine with the struggle to recover all the pieces of the Sovereign Stone to uproot the characters, sending them running across lands turned hostile. While much of the work fits the classic fantasy quest tradition, the authors do manage to impart some subtle differences, such as basing cultural traits and the magic used by each race (human, elf, dwarf, ork) upon an unusual associated element. (Orks are the water race and rule the seas, while the fire-using dwarves are master horse riders.) Dagnarus, Lord of the Void, is also not the quintessential outsider that most evil overlords tend to be. Instead, he's a Mordred figure, struggling to claim what he believes is his inheritance. In places the narrative turns expository, in order to aid readers wishing to role-play in the setting. Elsewhere, the collaboration reveals its seams, as when the same object is repeatedly given two names (blood knife/bone knife) or when a long-separated elven wife and husband immediately separate after embracing, for elves consider public displays of affection to be boorish and intrusive. The target audience, college-age readers and their teenage kin, should be well satisfied. (Nov. 20) Forecast: As with the authors' Dragonlance books, the associated role-playing game is sure to swell sales for the novel and viceversa. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. "The second volume of the Sovereign Stone opens some two centuries after 'Well of Darkness' ended. Prince Dagnarus -- immortal, thanks to his mastery of Void magic -- strives to keep the various races from uniting their portions of the Sovereign Stone, and the human knight, Gustav, sacrifices his life to pass the human portion on." Booklist. "Gustav, a human Dominon Lord, has made it his life's work to find the missing piece of the Sovereign Stone which was lost more than two centuries earlier, but his quest may cost him his life." When Sir Gustav recovers a portion of the long-lost Sovereign Stone, he hopes that its reunion with its companion stones will bring humans, elves, dwarves, and orken together to battle the forces of the Void. A group of unlikely individuals, including a young barbarian and his traveling companion, one of the diminutive race of pecwae, undertakes the quest to bring the magical treasure to its rightful place as vicious monsters pursue them across the landscape After five centuries of peace, the world of Loerem is torn apart by warfare and the rediscovery of the magical Sovereign Stone, and only three unlikely heroes stand against Dagnarus, the immortal prince of the Void, and his forces of darkness