The Battle Against
Those Determined
to Rule the World—or
Destroy It—Continues
In the future the world was a paradise—and then, in a moment, it ended. The council that controlled the Net fell out and went to war, while people who had never known a moment of want or pain were left wondering how to survive.
Duke Edmund Talbot has been assigned a simple mission: Go to the Southern Isles and make contact with the scattered mer-folk—those who, before the worldwide collapse of technology, had altered their bodies in the shape of mythical sea-dwelling creatures. He must convince them to side with the Freedom Coalition in the battles against the fascist dictators of New Destiny. Just a simple diplomatic mission. That requires the service of a dragon-carrier and Lieutenant Herzer Herrick, the most blooded of the Blood Lords—because New Destiny has plans of its own.
The fast-paced sequel to There Will be Dragons is a rollicking adventure above and below the high seas with dragons, orcas, beautiful mermaids— and the irrepressible Bast the Wood Elf, a cross between Legolas and Mae West.
Cover Art by Clyde Caldwell
Hardcover 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, July 2004
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Typeset by Bell Road Press, Sherwood, OR Production by Windhaven Press, Auburn, NH
Dedicated to Mark Turuk, without whom this book would never have been written. What doesn't kill us makes us strongerrrr! Freakin' Canucks . . . Baen Books by John Ringo
There Will Be Dragons Emerald Sea A Hymn Before Battle Gust Front When the Devil Dances Hell's Faire The Hero (with Michael Z. Williamson) Cally's War (with Julie Cochrane, forthcoming) The Road to Damascus by John Ringo & Linda Evans
with David Weber:
March Upcountry March to the Sea March to the Stars
The Battle Against