Thraxas

Thraxas ekes out a living as a private investigator. He lives in the poor part of town, with a barbarian for a landlord, and a female ex-gladiator to help him when the fighting gets rough. Thraxas might be too jaded to feel any desire for the beautiful Makri, with her Elvish and Orcish blood, but he appreciates her lethal combat skills. Thraxas once learned a little magic, but he's a hopeless sorcerer. On the other hand, he's brave, loyal to his clients, and he's a legend at the dining table. Thraxas can out-eat and out-drink anyone. When his investigations involve hostile sorcerers, sword-wielding thugs and murderous assassins, Thraxas knows the value of flagon of ale and a good bowl of stew.

In the scorching heat of the Turanian summer, Thraxas is doing his best to avoid working. His plans for a spell of uninterrupted beer drinking go wrong when the Civil Guards arrest a man for murder, right in Thraxas's office. Outraged at this insult to his dignity, Thraxas goes into action. Soon he finds himself in the middle of a deadly war between rival bands of warrior monks. The situation becomes more complicated when a consignment of the King's gold goes missing. To add to his difficulties, Makri decides to shelter to a wanted criminal, which attracts unwanted attention from the city authorities. Worse, Sarin the Merciless is back in town, and the bodies are piling up at an alarming rate. This is a new edition, with an introduction by the author.

It's a bad day for Thraxas when he's fined in court, then threatened by two old enemies – Rittius, head of Palace Security, and Glixius Dragon killer, a very unfriendly sorcerer. Thraxas is hired by his old army commander to locate a missing painting but everything goes wrong when the commander ends up dead. Thraxas finds himself embroiled in a murder enquiry when really all he wants to be doing is gambling at the chariot races. At the stadium, Thraxas and Makri are obliged to assist an Orc lord when his chariot is sabotaged, and helping an Orc lord does nothing for their reputation. Turai plunges into despair as the unending rain threatens to wash the city away. With the climate, the authorities and a cunning murderer all ranged against him, can Thraxas solve his case, and, just as importantly, emerge from the chariot races with a healthy profit? This is a new edition, with an introduction by the author.

In the fourth book of the Thraxas series, Thraxas is invited to the Elvish Island of Avula. Sailing south means he can avoid the harsh Turanian winter, and escape from Makri, who's recent behavior has outraged all decent citizens. Makri refuses to be left behind, much to the displeasure of the Turanian Prince, who knows her Orcish blood isn't going to be welcome on any Elvish island. Once there, Thraxas finds himself involved in the puzzling case of the Elvish sacred tree, and Makri starts giving sword-fighting lessons to a very puny young Elf. As a restful holiday, Thraxas's voyage south doesn't work out as well as he hoped. There's a lot more Elvish crime than he expected, and he ends up in conflict with virtually everyone on Avula. This is a new edition with an introduction by the author.

Thraxas and the Sorcerers is the fifth book in the series. With the city still gripped by a fierce winter, the only thing Thraxas wants to do is drink beer in front of a roaring fire. To his annoyance, the city authorities won't let him rest. Every Sorcerer in the West is heading for Turai to elect a new leader. The Turanian government is desperate for their own candidate to win. This will require cheating, bribery and corruption on a massive scale. Naturally, the authorities turn to Thraxas and Makri for help. As they do their best to support Lisutaris - herself a notably intoxicated sorcerer - the Sorcerers Assemblage turns into the most riotously debauched affair ever seen in Turai. This is a new edition with an introduction by the author.

"Why has no attempt been made to arrest Thraxas? Our inquiries indicate that Thraxas, a so called 'investigator,' has been at the scene of many unexplained deaths. Several landlords report that Thraxas - a huge man of bestial appetites - visited their taverns only minutes before these savage murders were committed. Thraxas has dabbled in the sorcerous arts, and may be in possession of several devastating Orcish spells. Why is this man still at liberty? And why was he ever granted the office of Tribune? Even in a city as corrupt as Turai, surely a man of such reputation should not be able to bribe his way into a lucrative government position…" This is a new edition of Thraxas book six, with an introduction by the author.

Winter is here again, and once more the City of Turai is as cold as the Ice Queen's grave. Makri, still determined to continue her education, complains about the Guild College being closed, but Thraxas has no greater ambition than to sit in front of a warm fire, drinking beer. His rest is disturbed by the sorcerer Lisutaris, who believes that the city will soon come under attack from the Orcs. Against his will, Thraxas is drafted onto the war council, where he would be content to show his skill at the dinner table, until a senior member of the government is murdered. Thraxas finds himself dragged unwillingly into an investigation. That would be stressful enough, without Makri transforming his private office into a classroom offering literacy lessons to the poorest women in the city. Caught between the Orcish army, a political murder, and Makri's educational zeal, Thraxas starts to think there's no hope for the City of Turai.

Turai is under threat and Thraxas is troubled by the city-wide food shortage. With no yams to go with his stew, life hardly seems worth living. Things become worse when the city is gripped by plague. Even the fearless Makri finds herself worried by the way people are falling ill all around. Soon you can't move in the Avenging Axe for casualties. Disregarding illness, and the threat of Orcish invasion, Thraxas is eager to participate in the biggest card game the tavern has ever seen, but he's short of money. The city needs saving and Thraxas needs cash, so there's no alternative for the large investigator but to get to work, solve some crime, and earn some gold.

Thraxas and Makri drift ashore in the distant land of Samsarina, in the company of Lisutaris, Head of the Sorcerers Guild. After a miserable voyage on a leaky fishing boat, Thraxas just wants to drink beer, but there are other matters to attend to. Turai has fallen to the enemy, and the armies of the West are gathering. Before war breaks out, there's the great sword-fighting tournament, which gives Thraxas the chance of almost unlimited gambling, if only he can persuade Makri to enter. Makri is surprised to find herself looking after a baby dragon, and even more surprised to discover that Thraxas has a romantic past, one which leads them into a murder investigation in an unfamiliar land, where hostile forces oppose them at every turn. This is the ninth book in the Thraxas series.

In the tenth book of the series, armies are gathering. It's time for Thraxas and Makri to march back towards Turai. Lisutaris is War Leader, and she trusts Thraxas enough to make him her personal security officer. Captain Thraxas is given the difficult task of outwitting Deeziz the Unseen, the enemy's most powerful sorcerer. He could do with some help from Makri. Unfortunately Makri spends most of her time hiding from the Elf with whom she once had a rather unsatisfactory relationship. Thraxas is relieved to meet a few familiar faces, refugees from Turai, but as he tries to prevent Deeziz from ruining the war effort, he finds himself baffled, outmaneuvered, and badly in need of beer.

Thraxas of Turai is the eleventh book in the series. Thraxas, perhaps the doughtiest warrior ever born within that city's walls, (as he describes himself) is almost home. The army led by Lisutaris reaches Turai, ready to retake their city. Thraxas begins the book in some trouble, having been flung in the stockade following a disreputable brawl, but will soon be back in action, investigating a politically awkward murder while making ready for battle. At his side is Makri, whose mathematical skills are called upon for some complicated sorcerous calculations designed to bring down the walls. There are dragons in the sky, hostile forces ahead, and, worst of all as far as Thraxas is concerned, a general beer shortage. When this is all over, Thraxas intends to spend the rest of his days sitting comfortably in his favourite tavern. But first, he has a city to retake.

Book twelve in the Thraxas series. – 'Sources at the Palace indicate that a very large sum of money in the form of gold bullion has disappeared from the Palace vaults. This was earmarked for the purchase of food and is a terrible loss to a city already on the brink of starvation. The whole affair smacks of corruption at the highest levels. Our revered War Leader Lisutaris, Mistress of the Sky, is of course beyond suspicion but the sad truth is she's surrounded by a coterie of very dubious characters including assassins, degenerate sorcerers, half-Orcish ruffians and several shady figures from the lower depths of Turanian society. Our readers will be amazed to learn that among these figures is Thraxas, about whom the Chronicle has had reason to warn the city before. As the food intended for our starving population disappears to the Simnian, Samsarinan and Niojan encampments, many curious glances will be cast towards the Mistress of the Sky, wondering why her most trusted companions all seem to be characters of the very lowest repute…'