Mountain of Madness

The Nameless Dwarf awakens from a year-long slumber, tortured by memories of slaughter. He has become an outcast, a butcher, the most reviled of dwarven kind.Meanwhile, forces of unimaginable destruction coalesce around the mountain fortress of a mad sorcerer, and the philosopher Aristodeus assembles a team of four unlikely heroes for a last desperate attempt to avert the destruction of all things:A pious knight with a wavering faith;An assassin with no idea who or what he really is;A woman with an enchanted blade that evokes the memory of the Black Axe;And a dwarf with no name who will either carve out his own redemption or condemn the world to a night that will never end. "Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." Mitchell Hogan"Like Bernard Cornwell on 'shrooms!" Dinorah WilsonInternationally bestselling and award winning author Derek Prior excels in fast-paced, high stakes epic fantasy adventure stories in which good ultimately triumphs, but always at a cost.Taking familiar fantasy tropes as a point of departure, Prior expands upon them to explore friendship, betrayal, loyalty and heroism in worlds where evil is an ever-present reality, magic is both a curse and a blessing, and characters are tempered in battle.Winner of best fantasy novel 2012 (The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles)Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018 (Ravine of Blood and Shadow) The age of glory is on the horizon and Carnac Thayn must make a difficult choice - one that will either save his people or condemn them. Who can be trusted in a land of magic and deceit?"Prior weaves a fully realized world in this rich fantasy." (Kirkus Reviews)"A beautifully written and engrossing masterwork!" (Mitchell Hogan)