Curse of the Black Axe


Book Description

The only thing keeping the Nameless Dwarf from once more becoming the Ravine Butcher is a helm made from the sorcerous ore, ocras, which he can never remove. Without the helm, he would succumb to the power of the black axe that caused the slaughter at Arx Gravis. After a year of fighting in other people’s wars, Nameless receives a visit from one of the underworld tricksters—a faen—who tells him the day he has long waited for has arrived: The philosopher Aristodeus has come up with a plan to destroy the black axe and free Nameless from the ocras helm. With the aid of new companions and an old friend, the assassin Shadrak the Unseen, Nameless must retrieve three artifacts that, combined, will bring an end to his suffering: The gauntlets of the fire giant, Sartis, whose lair lies in the roots of a volcano; The invulnerable armor of the Lich Lord of Verusia—an undead tyrant with a penchant for impaling and the drinking of souls; And the Shield of Warding, beneath which cowers a paranoid god on the fringe of the Abyss. But things are never that simple. Each of the companions has their own reasons for joining the quests, even Shadrak, who has been bound by an irrevocable contract—to kill the Nameless Dwarf.




Dragon Harper Curse


Book Description

A thrilling, dark and sensual story of war and revenge set in 6th Century Celtic Scotland. Driven mad at the Battle of Arderydd when his lord died and his dreams were destroyed, Lailoken, the last of the great dragon harpers, arises from pain and madness to seek redemption and revenge. A culmination of myth and legend blending history and fantasy of the war plagued years that led to the rise of Northumbria and a simple man of poetic heart and warrior soul.




Annals of the Nameless Dwarf (Books 1-6)


Book Description

A sprawling epic of redemption, heroism, and friendship in the face of insurmountable evil and an inexorable fate. "A beautifully written and engrossing masterwork!" (Mitchell Hogan) Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018 Child of an unreliable prophecy. Victim of a terrible deception. A soldier once. Then a killer of his own kind. A butcher. The Nameless Dwarf lies entombed beneath the earth, locked in an eternal sleep until the hour of Medryn-Tha's greatest need. With one shot at redemption, he must discover who he really is if he is to prevent the destruction of all the worlds and lead the dwarves to safety. But the deceptions that once cursed him have not been lain to rest. Every victory, every loss presents new dangers, new decisions. And history will remember him as the most cursed among the fallen, Or the greatest hero of legend. (Dungeons and dragons, Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, heroic fantasy, David Gemmell, Michael Moorcock, Gary Gygax, lich lord, undead, assassins guild, portal fantasy, hero quest, cyclops, zombies, witch, magic, sorcery, fantasy battles, myths and legends)




A Dwarf With No Name


Book Description

Unable to forgive himself for the massacre of thousands of his own kind under the influence of a cursed black axe, the Nameless Dwarf swears to do one last thing, even if it kills him: With Nils Fargin, the son of a Jeridium guild lord as his guide, Nameless pursues the surviving dwarves from the ravine city Arx Gravis, hoping to convince them that they are safe to return home now the black axe has been destroyed. The trail leads to the town of Malfen—a nest of cutthroats and the gateway to Cerreth, the Land of Nightmare, which would be suicide for the dwarves to enter. Nameless and Nils join forces with a shapeshifting assassin and a sorcerer under the sway of a dubious magical grimoire for the hazardous journey into Cerreth. It soon becomes apparent their new companions have agendas of their own. With threats from within and horror on every side, Nameless knows that time is running out for his people. The only surprise is that they have lasted so long.




Niger Delta: The Business of the Oil Curse


Book Description

Based on 30 years of fieldwork in the Niger Delta, this book debunks the determinism of the resource curse theory in Nigeria, Africa's leading oil producer and the most populous country on the continent. It rather shows that oil and gas production is only one element of a social problem with much deeper roots. It also investigates the role played by the youth, a key issue in a society where half of the population is under 18 years old. To understand the multiple causes of the crisis, it thus delves into the complexity of a rich history.




Fate of the Dwarf Lords


Book Description

Having worked out his penance and resettled his people in the citadel of Arnoch, the Nameless Dwarf decides to start a new life in the up-and-coming town of Brink. Seven years later, he has everything a dwarf could possibly wish for—a gym, a beer hall, and a bawdy house across the road. Then a blood-stained dwarf staggers into town with a message of doom: Arnoch has sunk beneath the waves, its last defense against the attack of a five-headed dragon. The one slender hope remaining to the dwarves lies in their distant past: the dwarf lords, who had been created for perils such as this. But for centuries, they have been in exile on Thanatos, a death world likely to change even the greatest of heroes. With time running out for Arnoch, Nameless must find the dwarf lords and persuade them to come home. But before that, he first has to survive them.




Dead Dwarves Don't Die


Book Description

When the dwarven civil war ended, the Nameless Dwarf lay cold upon the battlefield, his broken axe beside him. But death is not the end in a cosmos ruled by the Supernals, beings of pure sorcery with the power to create worlds. Nameless finds himself aboard a ship bound for the Feasting Hall of Witandos, but disappointment, rather than beer, awaits him, along with a mountain of unpaid penance. For the deeds performed in life have their consequences in the world to come, and an evil has taken root at the heart of the afterlife. An evil that seeks to turn the Supernal Realm into a second Abyss.




Tomb of the Witch Queen


Book Description

"Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." Mitchell Hogan, author of A Crucible of Souls The dwarven civil war might have ended, but the powers behind it still fester.... Snuv Scavage is about as lowborn as a dwarf can get. With no parents and no home, she tends Arnoch’s battle-goats and sleeps in their pen. But there is something special about this dwarf. Something written in her blood. When disturbing reports come in from the city of Jeridium, Snuv is sent to kill the heavily pregnant Skald, Nyra Sahtis, before she can give birth to her unnatural child. But Nyra is watched over by the Church of the Way, whose priests have changed beyond all recognition. And she enjoys the protection of Caelin the Cleaver, the most deadly warrior of her generation. Meanwhile, the wizard Venton Nap has returned to life on Aosia with only one thing on his mind: to bring back his deceased family from the Supernal Realm. Employing a guide from the backwater town of Malfen, Venton picks up on the ill-fated quest that once ended his life, determined to find the fabled lily cats of Rhylion and wrest from them the secret of life. As the ages old war between the Lich Lord of Verusia and the Witch Queen of Tho-Agoth at last comes to a head, plunging Medryn-Tha into a new age of darkness, Snuv is confronted by a dwarf with a plain-looking axe, which he claims is the legendary Paxa Boraga. A dwarf who has done his fair share of fighting, and who knows Snuv better than she knows herself. "A masterpiece of sword and sorcery storytelling. A visceral yet thoughtful epic." (Bookwraiths Reviews)




Sword of the Archon


Book Description

"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) 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) "... 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)




Last of the Exalted


Book Description

"One of the best fantasy novels I have read so far this year." Rebecca Ross (Reedsy Discovery) When a bloodthirsty horde storms out of the north, refugees flee for their lives, among them the skald Nyra Sahtis and Sister Caelin, a priestess who was once a trainer of armies. But with the capital, Jeridium, under siege from a second incursion, there is nowhere left to run. As rival armies converge on Jeridium, the Senate are reduced to clutching at straws. In a desperate last gambit, they send the assassin Shadrak the Unseen past enemy lines and into the mountains, where he must find a grief-stricken warrior and his mythical axe. "Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." Mitchell Hogan, author of A Crucible of Souls