TOWER, SWORD, STONE AND SPELL

The lives of a group of fighters, thieves, and sages converge in a land of intrigue and magic.

Lias is a man with a tragic past whose attempt at seeking a new life takes an unexpected detour. He’s a pit-fighter, and he and his twin brother were abandoned to the care of a pit-master who oversees hand-to-hand battles—sometimes to the death—on “the hard-packed earth” of a pit. When a new master wants him to fight his brother, Lias walks away and heads toward a monastery. He is captured by slavers along with a sage named Uril. After Uril’s death, an attack on the slavers gives Lias an opportunity to escape and find Uril’s family in Yut. In another part of Yut, an acolyte named Jyn prepares to meet his father, Magus Rhune. He travels with his teacher, Yu, to his father’s mansion; it seems that his father is seeking to extend his own life, and Jyn may be an important part of that quest. Ryll, a former thief, returns to Yut at the request of his former master, Anue, to retrieve a Heart-Stone, stolen by Cassi, Aune’s lover. While in Yut, Ryll recalls a journey with Cassi to the tower of a thaumaturgist, or magician, and the shocking discovery that continues to trouble him. Vincent’s fantasy weaves together three haunting tales of magic and mystery centered on Yut, a city full of secrets and surprises. Each tale has a protagonist embarking on a deeply and ultimately life-changing personal quest. Vincent is especially adept at creating compelling characters and vividly realized scenarios brimming with moments of intrigue and terror. One of the most dynamic and complex is Ryll, a skilled thief who leaves a life of deception for a simpler existence on a mountain with his wife, Myn. His past with Cassi and their dangerous journey to the thaumaturgist’s tower provide some of the narrative’s most intense and emotionally driven moments. Magic is a source of wonder and horror throughout the novel, particularly in Jyn’s story, where his father’s attempts at immortality include using people in his constructs.

A vivid and haunting fantasy that involves a mysterious city.