Cutting Edge, The (Dave Duncan) - [Handful of Men, A 01]

The great adventure had ended happily. The good folk of Krasnegar discovered that a beautiful princess could, indeed, succeed her royal father and rule in her own right—and rule very well, too. And when Queen Inos married Rap, the former stable boy, he turned out to be a very good king. He never admitted that he was a sorcerer, and everyone knew that Rap was a man of his word, so that was all right. The years passed. Rap and Inos raised a family, prospering in their remote little kingdom.

But trouble was brewing in the great world outside. The aged imperor grew ever more erratic, more tyrannical. His grandson Shandie, the boy Rap had befriended, was now a great soldier, struggling to suppress ever-growing upheaval in the borderlands while he waited to inherit the throne. Strange prophecies of upheaval and disaster spread. When the rumors reached even to Krasnegar, Rap scoffed at them as superstition—until one night a god appeared and confirmed that the truth was likely to be far worse. On his travels long ago, Rap himself had made a terrible blunder. Because of that, the world of Pandemia was now poised on the brink of utter disaster. The last thing Rap wanted was another adventure, but it might be the last thing he ever gets. 

From Library Journal

The world of Pandemia seethes with tension as imperial troops wage war along its borderlands and omens predict disaster. When the Protocol which restricts the use of magic begins to break down, only a few handpicked people have a chance to preserve the balance of their crumbling society. Set in the same world as the four-volume "A Man of His Word" series, Duncan's latest series opener promises an action-packed fantasy quest that should have wide appeal.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Book one of a projected four-part series, A Handful of Men, which itself follows Duncan's previous paperback series, A Man of His Word: lively, ingenious, disarming fantasy set in a well- realized land of sorcerers, gods, and numerous contending human varieties (imps,''fauns,'' ``elves,'' etc.). Now, at the end of the third millennium, the compact that prevented the world's four supreme warlocks from meddling in human affairs is breaking down. In the city of Hub, the old Emperor Emshandar stubbornly refuses to die, while heir prince Shandie and his rakish, self-serving assistant Ylo are preoccupied with the incessant military threats to the empire, many stirred up by sorcery. Elsewhere, King Rap of Krasnegar, once a sorcerer of godlike power, suspects his son has acquired sorcerous powers, is told by a god that one of his children will die, and realizes that the world-order is about to change for the worse. For the first time in a thousand years, the mysterious pixies intervene in human affairs. Finally, as old Emshandar dies, the sorcerers' compact dissolves: an insane dwarf sorcerer makes a bid for supreme power; Shandie--with a few loyal companions, Rap, and Raspnex the dwarf warlock--is driven forth from his palace, one step ahead of total disaster. Deftly woven and set forth with a refreshingly unpretentious clarity and directness: imagine David Eddings rewritten by Kate Wilhelm. Grab this one in the fervent hope that Duncan will maintain the same high standard throughout. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.