A Mankind Witch
The Heirs of Alexandria series, Book 3
Dave Freer
To the North of the Holy Roman Empire lie the pagan Norse-lands. It is here that Manfred, Prince of Brittany, and his Icelandic bodyguard, Erik, must venture in the dead of winter. To a rugged land of trolls and ice, to find a Pagan relic, something so magical that should not be possible to touch it, let alone steal it. Yet, it is gone. Unless it is recovered before Yuletide, a new Viking age will be born. King Vortenbras will lead his berserks in an orgy of rapine, looting and destruction across the Empire's unguarded flank.
Princess Signy is the King's older stepsister. Everyone believes her to be the thief, a witch and murderess. Everyone but Cair, her stable-thrall, an ocean-plucked man with a hidden past. Cair doesn't believe in witches or magic, let alone that Signy could steal and murder. And if he has to drag the foremost knight of the age and his bodyguard kicking and screaming through the entire Norse underworld to prove it, he'll do it. No kobold, dwarf or troll is going to stop him or his scepticism. Not the wild hunt. Not even a grendel. He doesn't believe in this superstitious rubbish. He's a man of science, and he's used that to fake his way into being feared as magic-worker. But for Signy, he'll be all of mankind's witches.
He'll have to be. Because that's what it'll take to defeat the dark magics massed against her.
A tale of intrigue, murder, love and magic set in the alternate history world SHADOW OF LION and THIS ROUGH MAGIC.
First published July 2005
Praise for the Heirs of Alexandria Series:
"The prolific Lackey and cohorts Flint and Freer whip up a luscious bouillabaisse of politics, intrigue, love and black magic set in an "Other-worldly, New-Age Venice . . ." The authors' use of contemporary American vernacular . . . instead of pompous period speech keeps the pages turning fast . . ." —Publishers Weekly
"[A] massive concoction of alternate history, high fantasy, and historical romance set in the sixteenth-century Venice of an alternate world . . . rich plotting, vivid characterization, and splendid evocation of Renaissance ethics and culture should make readers turn all the pages." —Booklist
“In this world, broken off from ours in A.D. 349 . . . Christian magic battles blackest sorcery. . . making for hours of old-fashioned reading fun . . . Lackey, Flint and Freer [are] mixmasters of nearly every heard-of myth.” Publishers Weekly
"[V]ast and absorbing . . . it is almost impossible to put it down while the tension remains high . . . Lackey and associates' areas of expertise, including naval history and classical mythology, are smoothly blended.”—Booklist
". . . a sweeping alternate history. . .The authors deftly wield the juxtaposition of fantasy and history into a finely crafted story." —Romantic Times
"[A] top pick . . . fast-paced action and complex, believable settings." —The Bookwatch