The Highwayman

"Saga of the First King #01 - The Highwayman" by R. A. Salvatore, published by Tor Fantasy. Amazon.com Review R.A. Salvatore's prelude to the Demon Wars Sagas The Highwayman is a stimulating ride into the early history of Corona and the vehicle is the creation a new, Drizzt-rivaling hero. Salvatore spins the tragic tale of an Abellican missionary who returns to Honce from the desert land Behr with wonders from the ancient Jhesta Tu monastery. At his side is his wife, a Jhesta Tu mystic. His dreams of uniting the teachings of the Jhesta Tu and "The Church of Blessed Abelle" are broken against the realities of bigotry and the young Abellican Church's struggle for political favor against the Druid-like Samhaists. But from their doomed union will rise a people's hero--the Highwayman. This novel is, at its heart, an origin tale and Salvatore takes time to spin his hero's legend. Although the stirring set piece at the novel's launch will let readers know where he's going, discovering how he gets there is a thrill and a pleasure, making this one of Salvatore's most mature and deliberate novels. In the backdrop, fans of the Demon War Sagas will watch the emerging Abellican Church as it grows from virtual cult to the calcified institution of the later books. In all, this is a stimulating addition to the Corona universe. --Jeremy Pugh From Publishers Weekly Bestseller Salvatore ( The Lone Drow , etc.) returns to the world of Corona with this serviceable, swift-moving tale of sword and sorcery filled with workmanlike scenes of persecution, last-minute rescues and obligatory romances. Long before the Demon Wars, in "God's year 54," Bransen Garibond, an orphaned cripple living with the very monks who were instrumental in the deaths of his clerical father and foreign-born mother, discovers secrets of his past through a mystical book and the healing stones of "the Church of the Blessed Abelle." Soon he becomes a warrior and travels the roads of Corona with a mystical sword seeking retribution. Despite the predictable, episodic plot and a conventional "feel-good" ending, the author does a good job of depicting Corona geography and the amoral ruling class that lords it over a grim society where children may be kidnapped for their genitals and where death is the result of honesty. Fans of Salvatore's unadorned approach and broad caricatures of archetypal figures should be pleased with this carnival of treachery and medieval feudalism. A new Drizzt Do'Urden story, "The Dowry," is an added bonus. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Book details: published 2004. Order now on BookShops.in with fast, reliable delivery across India.