Throughout this emotionally-charged novel, Niko is pulled this way and that.
Yet Tempus is loath to give up on Niko - he knows the young fighter still has a part to play, even if he has lost his balance, his maat. Critias, Tempus’ second in command, exhorts the Riddler to let Niko go - in his confused state he’s a bad influence on Band morale.
My heart went out to Niko in these opening passages, and it was continually wrenched and wrung throughout the novel by what this young fighter faced and endured.Įven the Stepsons, his sworn brothers, have turned against Niko. Magical intervention is not an option - indeed, Niko fears it will worsen the situation - so Niko struggles alone, watching his stricken mare weaken, unable to help her. Niko fears that the enemies which beset him - Death’s Queen, the Nisibisi witch Roxane, and the dream lord, Askelon - have caused his current problems and that his treasured mare, the only thing he has left that he cares about, will die because of his choices. Niko, favorite of the Stepson’s commander Tempus, is desperate to save the life of his pregnant mare, and the half-Tros foal she struggles to birth. This third novel in Janet Morris’ Beyond series begins with one of the most poignant and emotional opening scenes I’ve ever read. In imperial Ranke, Tempus finds himself torn between conflicting oaths and pitted against powers not even his immortal strength can vanquish – powers both mortal and immortal, magical and heavenly, so that, in the end, the god-ridden and accursed soldier must make pacts with his most hated enemies – not only Aškelon, the Lord of Dreams, but Death’s Queen herself – in order to save the souls of those he loves and the empire he’s served so long.Īnd this time, Tempus’ own soul hangs in the balance, as primal forces and even Enlil, the most fearsome storm god of them all, haggle over his fate. Randal, the Stepsons’ pet mage and Niko’s former partner, must unite Tempus, the Stepsons, and hellish aid from magical quarters in a desperate attempt to save the defenseless Niko from Death’s Queen – and himself.
When Niko quits the Stepsons, he finds that his troubles are just beginning: not only has Death’s Queen marshaled new forces to entrap him, but Rankan interests desirous of a change in emperors have singled him out as the perfect assassin. BEYOND WIZARDWALL the northern adventures of Tempus and his Stepsons come to their apocalyptic conclusion at the Festival of Man, where the games are not the scheduled ones of prowess at swordplay or chariot-racing, but games of assassination and treachery, with the Rankan emperor’s life and the honor of the Sacred Band at stake.
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