Sword of the Archon

"Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." (Mitchell Hogan)When a powerful artifact is stolen from the Abbey of Pardes, the holy knight Deacon Shader is sent to retrieve it.But events have already spiraled out of control: plague spreads across the land, the dead rise from their graves, and an ancient evil has awakened.As Creation itself hangs by a thread, Shader must confront the contradiction that defines him:Either he is a man of prayer with a wavering faith,Or the deadliest warrior of his generation.The fate of all the worlds will be decided by his answer."Like Bernard Cornwell on 'shrooms!" (Dinorah Wilson)"Shader is a triumph of fantasy!" (Journal of Always) "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) "An epic fantasy across three books that is wild, fast-paced, has fantastic characters, spreads across countries as well as worlds and religions, and is absolutely one of the best fantasy trilogies in existence." -- Melinda LeBaron