Ravenheart: A Novel Of The Rigante

Eight hundred years have passed since King Connavar of the Riganteand his bastard son,Bane,defeated the invading army of Stone. In that time, Connavar has become a legend, and the Rigante have lost the freedom so many gave their lives to preserve. A conquered people, they live and die under the iron rule of the Varlish, their culture all but destroyed.One woman remains who follows the ancient paths once trod by theRigante. She is the Wyrd of Wishing Tree Wood, and she alone knows the nature of the evil soon to be unleashed on a doomed and unsuspecting world. In a perilous land, facing an uncertain destiny, she pins her initial hopes on two men: Jaim Grymauch, the giant Rigante fighter, a man haunted by his failure to save the friend he loved from betrayal, and Kaelin Ring, a youth whose deadly talents will earn him the enmity of all Varlish. One will become the Ravenheart, an outlaw leader whose daring exploits will inspire the Rigante. The other will forge a legend and light the fires ofrebellion.The Wyrd knows that ultimately all hopes will rest on a third man. Of the bloodline of Connavar the King, he will need to overcome generations of fear and hatred if he is to achieve his destiny. For he is a Varlish nobleman, and - worse - the son of the Rigante's greatest enemy . . .

Ravenheart continues the tale of the Rigante. Packed with epic battles, hard, bloody steel, honour, magic and mystery, this heroic fantasy by the Sunday Times bestselling author David Gemmell is perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie, John Gwynne and Conn Iggulden.

'Characterization, always a strength in this writer's work, is even deeper and subtler. In the realm of people-driven, solidly plotted fantasy fiction, Gemmell set the standard' Time out
'Gemmell has every right to take his place among the SF and fantasy greats' SFX
'For me one of the best writers of this genre' * Reader review
'Fabulous storytelling, excellent characters, this is fantasy at its very best' * Reader review

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Eight hundred years have passed since King Connavar of the Rigante and his bastard son, Bane, defeated the invading army of Stone.

Connavar has since become a legend, and the Rigante have lost the freedom so many gave their lives to preserve. They live and die under the iron rule of the Varlish, their culture all but destroyed.

One woman still follows the ancient paths once trod by the Rigante, and she alone knows the nature of the evil soon to be unleashed on a doomed and unsuspecting world. She pins her initial hopes on two men: Jaim Grymauch, the giant Rigante fighter, and Kaelin Ring, a youth whose deadly talents will earn him the enmity of all Varlish.

One will become the Ravenheart, an outlaw leader whose daring exploits will inspire the Rigante. The other will forge a legend and light the fires of rebellion.

The Wyrd knows that ultimately all hopes will rest on a third man. Of the bloodline of Connavar the King, he will need to overcome generations of fear and hatred if he is to achieve his destiny.

For he is a Varlish nobleman, and - worse - the son of the Rigante's greatest enemy . . .

Have you read Sword in the Storm and Midnight Falcon - the first two tales of the Rigante? Their story concludes in Stormrider.

Vorwort
The eagerly awaited third Rigante novel. A sequel to the bestselling Midnight Falcon

Autorentext

David A. Gemmell's first novel, Legend, was first published in 1984 and went on to become a classic. His most recent Drenai and Rigante novels are available as Corgi paperbacks; all are Sunday Times bestsellers.

Widely regarded as the finest writer of heroic fantasy, David Gemmell lived in Sussex until his tragic death in July 2006.