The 3-volume fantasy epic "Journeys of the Catechist" is a triumph of boundless wonder and unending imagination -- the quest of a uniquely compelling hero on a world where the impossible is normal and plain virtues may be the greatest weapons a warrior can possess. Etjole Ehomba is a simple, humble herdsman from an isolated tribe, and a man of honor. Thus he feels morally obliged to fulfill the dying wish of a shipwrecked stranger: "Save the Visioness . . ." So with only his spear, his sword, and a bag of gifts from the women of the village, Ehomba leaves family and home to walk the length of the world, cross an impassable ocean, vanquish an unstoppable evil, and rescue a woman he has never met for the sake of a dead man he does not know. This is vol. 1.

A hero’s quest begins in this first book of “perhaps [the] most highly regarded fantasy trilogy” from the New York Times–bestselling author (Black Gate). They washed up on the beach, dead men clad in strange, intricate garments. The Naumkib tribe will eat well tonight. Simple herdsman Etjole Ehomba is wandering among the corpses, when he hears a faint cry . . . One of the men is still alive—and he implores Etjole for help. His countess-to-be, the Visioness Themaryl of Laconda, has been abducted, carried off by Hymneth the Possessed. The dying man charges Etjole with the duty to find her and restore her to the people of Laconda. Etjole—herder, fisherman, father, warrior, tracker—is a man of conviction. He cannot ignore a brave and noble man’s plea. So he sets off on a journey to find a woman many men were willing to die for and to face his destiny in the Unstable Lands, where people are swallowed up by unreality—by things that should not even exist . . . “Odd and engaging . . . A wondrous journey.” —Locus “Inventive and filled with flavorsome incident.” —Kirkus Reviews “An epic series which is sure to please many readers.” —SF Site

Three epic adventures in the trilogy “of tales within tales, like those of Sinbad and his many voyages . . . Foster at his best, thoughtful and fun” (Booklist). Follow a humble herdsman as he embarks on an honor-driven quest to rescue a beautiful Visioness in this “fast-paced mix of wry humor, high fantasy, and amazing new places and creatures” (Publishers Weekly). Carnivores of Light and Darkness A dying man implores Etjole Ehomba for help: find the Visioness Themaryl of Laconda and restore her to her people. Etjole—herder, fisherman, father, warrior, tracker—is a man of conviction, so he sets off to face his destiny in the Unstable Lands, where people are swallowed up by unreality—by things that should not even exist . . . Into the Thinking Kingdoms Now with two companions at his side—a swordsman and a gigantic black cat—Etjole Ehomba seeks to cross the blighted Semordria Ocean to reach the Visioness being held captive by an evil necromancer. But first he’ll have to head into the Thinking Kingdoms, with danger and dark magic nipping at his heels . . . A Triumph of Souls Together Etjole and his loyal friends have crossed the Semordria Ocean, languished in its doldrums and fenced its winds, with the help of sargassum men, crabs, and krakens. Their journey is coming to end. And the showdown between humble herder and malevolent wizard will unleash forces that the world has never seen . . . Praise for Alan Dean Foster “A master storyteller.” —SF Site “One of the most consistently and fertile writers of science fiction and fantasy.” —The Times (London)

Helicopter pilot Lazarus Jones is consumed with survivor guilt and remorse after his crew is killed Vietnam. Spiralling into depression and alcoholism, Laz crosses the threshold between life and death, only to find himself battling once more alongside his lost comrades, in the ultimate war between Good and EvilÉ

Etjole Ehomba and his companions brave the Kraken haunted waters of the impassable Semordria. Then they must cross yet another continent in their search for the kidnapped Visioness - past berserk giants, skeleton armies, a desert prospected by Hell's demon and at the end of the world waits Hymneth the Possessed: the sadistic necromancer of unspeakable horror. But Ehomba already knows the prophecy: His quest is doomed to failure, and Hymneth will kill him. Unless somehow, the simple herdsman can ask the questions that even Death must answer...

From the New York Times–bestselling author of Carnivores of Light and Darkness comes the second fantasy adventure in the Journeys of the Catechist saga. With his two companions—Simna ibn Sind the swordsman and the massive black cat Ahlitah—at his side, Etjole Ehomba continues his honor-driven quest to find the Visioness of Laconda. Imprisoned in the fortress of an evil necromancer, she is both her captor’s obsession and his torment. Seeking to cross the blighted Semordria Ocean, Etjole and his sidekicks find no one willing to risk its legendary monsters—until they meet a collector of rare animals. He points them to the northern realm of Hamacassar, and then drugs them in order to steal Ahlitah. Escaping the man’s conjured assassins, the trio head to the Thinking Kingdoms, across snow-covered mountains to Laconda, with danger and dark magic nipping at their heels . . . “Foster’s latest series combines elements of epic fantasy with folkloric motifs in an engaging picaresque tale of a simple man’s honor-bound journey into adventure.” —Library Journal “The story’s swift pace and Foster’s boundless imagination deliver something very different from the usual fantasy quest saga. In these magical lands, Foster shows that character and common sense can be as important, and as powerful, as any magic.” —Publishers Weekly “There’s no doubt that Alan Dean Foster is a master storyteller. I finished Into the Thinking Kingdoms in a single sitting.” —Black Gate “Splendidly packed with illustrious incidents, not to mention a protagonist who grows steadily more intriguing and enigmatic.” —Kirkus Reviews

Nineteen-year-old Joe ODell is about to learn he is not who he thinks he is. Soon after being introduced to Betsy, a spirited coed unlike anyone he has met, Joe is abducted to a private, billion-dollar lab. There he discovers the unbelievable: he has been cloned from two-thousand-year-old burial lines that may have been Jesus Christs. Held captive, Joe watches his almost normal life through scenes recorded by a genius who wants to know if his clone is divine or not. Distraught, Joe flees. On his own, the once tender now broken soul welcomes darkness, even sin. The runaway never forgets Betsy who, after just one meeting, becomes a light to him, a beacon. Joe also remembers his college roommate, a modern-day matchmaker with his own struggle. When he returns to the life he knew, Joe reconnects with his dad and the old neighborhood that now includes new faces. Before being called to help one special person become one great minister someday, Joe touches everyone around him with his truth: God is within each of us. Jesus Cloned is a gentle, often funny, scientifically engaging, irrevocably sweet and heartwarming journey. Through their losses and gains, Joe and those closest to him reveal to themselvesand to all of ushow far Gods love reaches, and how much that love heals.