Once A Hero

Once a Hero by Michael A. Stackpole

Published by Bantam Books 1994, ISBN#: 055356112X, Soft bound, Good- condition - Reading copy (Library book with rubber stamps on first two pages and top page edges, cover has been laminated with lamination repairing torn front cover, part of cover picture turned under during lamination). Already an unparalleled creator of fantasy role-playing games and game-related novels, Michael Stackpole now ventures one step further with an original epic adventure. Once a Hero unravels a riveting tale of a legendary human hero, who, in one life, built a kingdom, and who, 500 years later, must be raised from the dead to help save it. An intriguing tale of elven magic and romance. A legend comes to life - half a millennium ago Neal Elfward, a legendary human warrior, fought alongside his Elven friend Aarundel for the freedom of mankind against the tyranny of the sorceress Reithrese empire. But Neal's victory began a genocidal war that cost him dearly. Now the future he hoped for is unraveling. Count Berengar has invited the lovely Geneva, Aarundel's granddaughter, to join in a quest to bring stability to the land. Pressed to accomplish the impossible, Geneva suggests the unthinkable-raising Neal from the dead. But what is true in legend is not always true in reality. A hero from yesteryear may be a hero still, but is Neal the hero they want? Neal Roclawzi, called Elfward, was born under multiple omens. Stackpole interweaves the story of Neal's fight to destroy the empire of the horrid Reithrese and to build a new, human one with that of the consequences of his fight 500 years later. Both narratives are concerned with the struggle of elves and humans to overcome their ingrained enmity as well as the machinations of their common foe. Both fights concentrate upon possessing Neal's enchanted sword, the bearer of which is destined to fashion an empire, either of Reithrese slavery or human freedom. Stackpole's rich world provides a brilliant tapestry across which Neal and his fellows stride with all appropriate pageantry, while the Reithrese are as nasty a set of villains as ever complicated a fantasy plot. The book is approximately 4 1/8 X 6 7/8 inches in size and contains 513 pages. The cover price is $5.99. Another copy of the book is currently offered on the Internet at ALottaBooksfor $20. For more info about this other book, Visit:Book Web Site

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