FIVE YEARS AFTER
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION,
MAGIC IS LOOSE IN THE BACKWOODS
The forces of evil are poised to prey on the folk of the hamlets and hollows: witches, demons, and red-handed men--but first they'll have to overcome Old Nathan the Wizard.
He doesn't claim much for his magical powers, but they're real enough for what they are--and besides, he hasn't forgotten how to use his long flintlock rifle ....
Enter the gritty, realistic world of Old Nathan, a backwoodsman who talks to animals and says he'll face The Devil himself-and who in the end will have to face The Devil in very fact.
"David Drake is one of those rare authors who seems capable of switching from one mode of writing to another, hard science, near future political thriller to high fantasy, with a smooth meshing of gears."
-Science Fiction Chronicle
Cover art by Larry Elmore
Paperback
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and
events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real
people or incidents is purely coincidental.
First printing, October 1991
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Printed in the United States of America
A signed, numbered limited-edition print of the artwork is available from the artist at Elmore Studios, P.O. Box 358, Leitchfield, KY 42754.
Among the people who made this book possible are my wife Jo; my parents, Z
Earle and Maxine Drake; Janet Morris; and Manly himself. My thanks to all of them.
FIVE YEARS AFTER 