This classic fantasy adventure from the acclaimed author of the Wars of Light and Shadow series “is storytelling at its best” (Raymond E. Feist, #1 New York Times–bestselling author). Chained at the oar on a Mhurgai galley, a sullen slave who never speaks is considered a madman by his fellow captives—until the hour Korendir announces a plan, which is certainly doomed to failure, for no one ever escapes the merciless Mhurgai alive . . . Korendir’s silence hides a devious intellect. And his benchmate, Haldeth, is desperate to end his cruel captivity, even if mercy comes to him under the murderous knives of the Mhurgai. When Korendir’s daring plan frees them both, Haldeth is compelled to follow his determined companion on an even more impossible quest: to lift a curse that despoils the kingdom of Torresdyr by recovering a legendary wardstone from a witch. His prize if he succeeds? A wizard’s treasure. If he fails? A grave with the legion of defeated champions before him. Far from content to retire from danger, Korendir’s restless nature will not embrace peace, his insatiable taste for impossible odds skating the thin edge toward insanity . . . “Powerful . . . Epic grandeur . . . Magnificent.” —Anne McCaffrey, New York Times–bestselling author “Feeling like an old-fashioned episodic adventure fantasy, the novel gradually reveals an underlying thread that explains the main character’s personality. Think Lethal Weapon in a complex fantasy setting.” —Tor.com “A large, varied, and original fantasy world, a unique magic concept, and a beautiful romance.” —Fantasy Literature

Chronicles the lifetime adventures of a mercenary hired out to resolve the increasingly difficult afflictions that beset his homeworld. From violent misfortune and escape from slavery, the tale follows the master through encounters with magic, towns beseiged by arcane monsters, armed forces, and curses.

BOOK ONE IN THE GROUNDBREAKING SERIES, THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW A powerful, layered weaving of myth, prose and pure imagination – Curse of the Mistwraith opens an epic fantasy series perfect for fans of The Dark Tower and Earthsea.

An epic fantasy adventure set in the beloved world of the Demon Cycle, following a new generation of heroes, from New York Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett “Heart-wrenching, smart, and modern . . . The Desert Prince has set a new standard for fantasy.”—Wesley Chu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The War Arts Saga Fifteen years have passed since the end of the war with demons, creatures of darkness who have hunted the night and plagued humanity since time out of mind. The heroes of humanity’s hour of need have become legend, and those who remain struggle to escape their shadows. Olive Paper and Darin Bales have grown up in this new peaceful world. Demons have been all but destroyed, but dangers still lurk for the children of heroes. Olive, princess of Hollow, has her entire life planned out by her mother, Duchess Leesha Paper: a steady march on a checklist to prepare her for succession. The more her mother writes the script, the more Olive rails against playing the parts she is assigned. Darin faces challenges of a different kind. Though free to choose his own path, the weight of legacy hangs heavy around his shoulders. It isn’t easy being the son of the man people say saved the world. Everyone expects greatness from Darin, but the only thing he’s ever been great at is hiding. When Olive and Darin step across the wards one night, they learn the demons are not all gone, and those that remain hunger for revenge. Events are set in motion that only prophecy can foresee as Olive and Darin seek to find their own places in the world in time to save it again.

"The Rider on the White Horse" begins as a ghost story. A traveler finds himself caught in dangerously rough weather. On an island just offshore he glimpses the specter of a rider on a white horse rising and plunging in the wind and rain. Taking shelter at a local inn, the traveler mentions the apparition, and the local schoolmaster volunteers a story. It is a tale of ambition, of a young man, Hauke Heien, who is out not only to make a name for himself but to remake the world; of love and family, as Hauke and his wife try to come to terms with their late-born child's mental retardation; and of politics, as the community fights back against Hauke's initiatives. It is a story, too, about the crisis of faith, of wanting and missing the presence of the divine, and of the persistence of superstition. It is an appealingly matter-of-fact picture of rural life, a harrowing glimpse of spiritual isolation, and a stark vision of the violence of the natural world. Finally, it is a story about the basis of civilization in the act of human sacrifice. Anticipating "Lord of the Flies" and "The Lottery," Theodor Storm's novella, limpidly translated by the American poet James Wright, is not just the ghost story it first appears to be but an economical and gripping dramatization of some of the bloody questions that haunt the disenchanted modern world.