Ring-Sworn Trilogy

Howard Andrew Jones' powerful world-building brings this epic fantasy to life in For The Killing of Kings, the first book of his new adventure-filled trilogy. Their peace was a fragile thing, but it had endured for seven years, mostly because the people of Darassus and the king of the Naor hordes believed his doom was foretold upon the edge of the great sword hung in the hall of champions. Unruly Naor clans might raid across the border, but the king himself would never lead his people to war so long as the blade remained in the hands of his enemies. But when squire Elenai's aging mentor uncovers evidence that the sword in their hall is a forgery, she's forced to flee Darassus for her life, her only ally the reckless, disillusioned Kyrkenall the archer. Framed for murder and treason, pursued by the greatest heroes of the realm, they race to recover the real sword, only to stumble into a conspiracy that leads all the way back to the Darassan queen and her secretive advisors. They must find a way to clear their names and set things right, all while dodging friends determined to kill them - and the Naor hordes, invading at last with a new and deadly weapon.

In this sequel to For the Killing of Kings, Howard Andrew Jones returns to the Nine Realms of the Dendressi in Upon the Flight of the Queen to continue this imaginative and fun epic fantasy trilogy. While the savage Naor clans ready to march on the heart of the Five Realms, Rylin Corimel infiltrates the highest of the enemy ranks to learn their secrets and free hundreds of doomed prisoners. His ailing mentor Varama leads the Altenerai corps in a series of strikes to cripple the Naor. Kyrkenall, Elenai, and the kobalin Ortok ride for the storm-wracked shifting lands to rekindle the alliance with the winged lizards known as ko'aye, the only possible counter to the terrible Naor dragons. Meanwhile, the queen is delving further and deeper into the magic of the mysterious hearthstones, in a frantic attempt to save the realms that just might doom them all. Praised for his ability to write modern epic fantasy that engrosses and entertains, Howard Andrews Jones delivers a sequel that expands the amazing world, relationships, and adventure that he introduced in the first book of this series.

In When the Goddess Wakes, the final book of the Ring-Sworn trilogy, Howard Andrew Jones returns to the five realms of the Dendressi to conclude his heroic, adventure-filled epic fantasy trilogy. The Naor hordes have been driven from the walls, but the Dendressi forces are scattered and fragmented, and their gravest threat lies before them. For their queen has slain the ruling council and fled with the magical artifacts known as the hearthstones, and she is only a few days from turning them to her mad ends. The Altenerai corps has suffered grievous casualties, and Elenai's hearthstone and her source of sorcerous power has been shattered. She and her friends have no choice but to join with the most unlikely of allies. Their goal: to find the queen's hiding place and somehow stop her before she wakes the goddess who will destroy them all... Praised for his ability to write modern epic fantasy that engrosses and entertains, Howard Andrews Jones delivers a finale to his trilogy that reveals the dark secrets and resolves the mysteries and conflicts introduced in the first two books of this series. When not helping run his small family farm or spending time with his amazing wife and children, HOWARD ANDREW JONES can be found hunched over his laptop or notebook, mumbling about flashing swords and doom-haunted towers. His novels include The Chronicles of Sword and Sand (The Desert of Souls, The Waters of Eternity, The Bones of the Old Ones) and several Pathfinders Tales. Jones has worked variously as a TV cameraman, a book editor, a recycling consultant, and a college writing instructor. He assembled and edited Bison Books's collections of Harold Lamb's historicals for the University of Nebraska Press, and served as Managing Editor of Black Gate. He edits the sword-and-sorcery magazine Tales From the Magician's Skull, and serves as Executive Editor of the Perilous Worlds book imprint.