The Grand Design: Book Two of Tyrants and Kings: 2 - Softcover

Marco, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553580299 ISBN 13: 9780553580297

Publisher: Spectra Books, 2001

Synopsis

From John Marco comes the epic sequel to his thrilling debut military fantasy, The Jackel of Nar. An infamous warrior is once again caught between two irrexixtible forces, and his choice may change the world...

Prince Richius Vantran, the Jackal of Nar, has fled into exile. Meanwhile, Nar has exploded in civil war. The conflict is being waged between the religious fanatics of Bishop Herrith, who follow the Light of God, and the ruthless followers of Count Biagio and his Black Renaissance. As the terrifying slaughter mounts, fueled by the development of hideous new war machines, Vantran is offered a chance to ally with a third faction and take his revenge against his ancient enemy Biagio.

But Biagio, a master of deception and intrigue, has a grand design to gain total power that involves luring Vantran's new allies into a deadly trap. As for Vantran, Biagio has a special punishment: to strike the warrior-prince's only weakness...Vantran's innocent daughter. And Vantran himself will unwittingly seal the young girl's fate.

About this title

Review:

The Grand Design is the second in John Marco's "Tyrants and Kings" sequence, following on from The Jackal of Nar in which Marco set up an interesting sorceress empire on the brink of collapse and civil war when its elixir-addicted ruler runs, finally, out of time. In The Grand Design, our attention moves away from Richius, the brilliant young general who came to see the empire he served as a nightmare of injustice, and to the court of Biagio, cleverest and most evil of the dead emperor's chief lieutenants. Biagio's enemies and rivals, not the least Richius, find themselves trapped in the elegant clockwork of his machinations--this is an intelligent book about intrigues and double-dealings which all turn out to have a place in a scheme of breathtaking viciousness.

Marco gets away from some of the more obvious clichés of fantasy here--Biagio is mad and decadent and ruthless, but many of his rivals are equally vicious and considerably more stupid. Captive at Biagio's court, Richius' barbarian wife Dyana learns respect, and even a sort of affection, for the man who wrecked her husband's life. There is a lot of dark comedy here and attractively complex emotions; Marco is learning as the series proceeds to turn fantasy's stock materials to his own bleak ends. --Roz Kaveney

Review:

Praise for The Jackal of Nar

"John Marco has now joined the ranks of Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, Stephen Donaldson, and, of course, J. R. R. Tolkien."
--BookPage

"Absorbing, deftly plotted...with promising character developments and a well-rounded, satisfying end."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Marco's first novel offers an unusual and imaginative mix of well-conceived magic with a technology that includes gunpowder and trench warfare. Its plot is rife with twists and interesting kinks, and should captivate most fantasy fans."
--Publishers Weekly

"The Jackal of Nar introduces us to a world full of intrigue, villainy, magic and technology, producing a unique fantasy tale....I can't wait to see how the rest of the tale unfolds."
--Michael A. Stackpole

"Introduces a marvelous new voice to the world of fantasy. Jackal is a stunning first novel and I eagerly await the next book of Nar."
--Allan Cole

"A well-crafted military fantasy, fast-paced, and underscored with believable characters and politics."
--J.V. Jones

About this edition

• Publisher: Spectra Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0553580299
• ISBN 13: 9780553580297
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 800