The Conqueror's Shadow

January 4, 2010
Gaming industry veteran Marmell (Planeswalker: Agents of Artifice
) offers a breezy adventure starring retired evil overlord Corvis Rebaine. When Corvis decided love was more important than world domination, a shadowy figure known as Audriss took over his plans, which now endanger Corvis’s family. Middle-aged Corvis must strap on his dusty and ill-fitting armor, gather his old allies both mortal and demonic, and save a realm that remembers him only as a malevolent would-be world conqueror. Marmell’s prose is competent, and though his characters seem at times more motivated by the needs of the plot than internal consistency, Corvis is charmingly cunning. The result is an amusing adventure pitting an only somewhat amoral sociopath and his legion of morally compromised friends against an army set on conquest and a genuinely evil villain whose ambitions threaten the world itself.

November 15, 2009
Known as the Terror of the East, Lord Corvis Rebaine nearly conquered the realm of Imphallion before suddenly abandoning his campaign and putting aside the ways of war. When the rise of a new warlord threatens his family, Rebaine takes up his weapons and armor to fight for what he holds dear. Filled with dark humor as well as scenes of brutal battle and high magic, Marmell's ("Agents of Artifice") fantasy saga features a protagonist whose sins are as numerous as his good deeds and whose past serves as a reminder of his wrongdoings. VERDICT Superior storytelling and deft dialog make this a top-notch choice for fans of Glen Cook and James Barclay.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.