When things get really dark, you might have to become a monster in order to defy a demon.

The queen of Ishmek faces a hard choice, to accede to the demand for her hand in marriage from the man she believes orchestrated her father’s murder, or face the wrath of a demon her newly formed guard can’t possibly hope to fight. The arrival of Hawk, a skilled mercenary, gives her one last option. Despite her growing feelings for him, she sends Hawk to persuade her betrothed to abandon his plans for her kingdom. Reaper impresses everyone with his razor-edged negotiating tactics, but even his skills can’t stop a betrayal generations in the planning.

Some things are easy to bear. Some things destroy your soul. Sometimes it’s hard to know how things will affect you until after you’ve survived it all, war and betrayal, love and loss. To defy the dark, Reaper Hawk must embrace his curse, and all the pain that comes with it. Sometimes, even your best isn’t enough. Killing gods isn’t easy. Sometimes you have to become what you fear in order to defeat what terrifies others.

Every story has a beginning, and an ending, but it’s often hard to tell just where those lie when every story is part of a greater whole.

Reaper Hawk the Defiant is the fourth book in the Lysandrian Tales, a series by author Ben Blackstump. If you like R.A. Salvatore and Steven Brust, then you’ll love Defiant. It’s a fast-paced sword and sorcery story with duels, demons, love, revenge, sorcery, and dark heroism, and just a dash of irreverent humour.

Scroll back to the top and click the buy button to get your copy of Sorceress and find out what troubles Reaper Hawk has gotten himself into this time.