The Perils of Puryas

In this tale I introduce you to Puryas, the schemer for wealth at any cost but fated to find his efforts as elusive as water in the Waste. He inhabits a world where successive Empires have risen and fallen for eons. History has faded into myth, wizardry has almost been reduced to science, and governing is really about raw power and control. But it's also about the physical reality of this world: A climate that fluctuates from extreme heat to bitter cold, a massive wall that wards off the rising sea without and competing barbarian hordes that see the old cities as a source of wealth and plunder. A potent mix that I think will make for interesting reading. As time goes on you'll find more and more back matter and details on the website www.talesofthewaste.com . Enjoy this novel and, if it intrigues you, the rest in the series. Comments are welcome, and criticism taken with a grain of salt... . In many ways this novel, as well as the other four in the series, are a return to my first writing roots. I grew up on a reading diet of epic sword-and-sorcery; the tales of Howard, Tolkien and Vance were as formative as my studies in history. As a result, my first four novels were set in such a world in the fantasy genre. The genre has evolved. Now it is routine to see TV and movies, graphic novels and video games, all produced on related epic themes. This, the second novel in my new series, is my attempt to improve on my first efforts 40 years ago. It combines the best of Tolkien - history, maps, language, glossaries and interesting tales - with a variety of writing styles and viewpoints. I've learned a lot in my writing career, this is the result.


Genre: Science Fiction