Terry Mancour has 22 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 11 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.8★ across 4,839 ratings. The most-rated is Warmage.
Warmage
Summary
The goblin invasion is on...and a wizard's work is never done! After facing a hopeless siege, an implacable foe and an impossible escape, you would think that Minalan the Spellmonger would be able to rest - but the armies of the undead goblin shaman Shereul (known as the Dead God to his human victims) are rolling over the western reaches of the rustic Duchy of Alshar and is headed toward the heart of the Duchy of Castal. Thousands are fleeing for their lives as hordes of goblins pour out of Boval Vale and devastate the rugged fiefs of the Alshari Wilderlands. And the super-charged shamans of the Dead God are making defending the realm almost impossible for the outnumbered Alshari country knights. While the two Dukes play feudal politics to further their own ends, the only people who seem to care about the invasion are Minalan and his outlaw warmagi friends - and they're busy dodging agents of the sinister Royal Censorate of Magic. But if someone doesn't organize an army in northern Alshar soon, then there will be nothing to stop the armies of the divinely powerful Dead God from conquering all five Duchies in his genocidal quest for vengeance. But things are just not that simple: he has to cope with a sexy young Shadowmage assassin who works for a mysterious spymaster, a cocky new manservant, a dysfunctional group of suddenly-powerful warmagi, the Censor General, and a bunch of whiny nobles before the Dukes will grant him the troops and money he will need - and the Dukes have plans of their own. If Minalan the Spellmonger can't lobby the courts of Alshar and Castal to work together - and quickly - the hordes of the Dead God will sweep over the frontiers of both states. Worse, the mysterious Umbra veil he has erected around Boval Vale may come to imperil all Five Duchies. Minalan would rather just go home and let the Dukes handle it, but his conscience won't let him. Someone has to stop the Dead God...and that someone happens to be him. Beyond politics and plots, goblins and trolls, mercenaries and magic, the Soulless and the shamans, Censors and secret orders, for Minalan there is only the thought that his child is to be born in a world with such dangers, and that is something he cannot permit. It is time for the Spellmonger to pick up his mageblade, summon his allies, and go to war again...as a Warmage!
©2016 Terry Mancour (P)2017 Podium Publishing
Magelord
Summary
Minalan gets medieval! When you defeat the invading goblin army, get knighted on the field of battle, gifted with lands and gold, usually your happily-ever-after is...happy. But now that Minalan the Spellmonger has been ennobled and enfiefed, Sire Minalan has a task cut out for him that makes defeating goblins seem like child's play: moving his very pregnant bride and a few thousand refugees from Boval Vale into the remote, sparsely peopled Domain of Sevendor. But when he arrives, he finds the land withered from neglect and filled with superstition and suspicion. A third of his domain has been conquered before he got there, and the castle he now owns hasn't been maintained in decades. As Minalan manages the challenges of being a noble, being a mage knight, being the lord of the manor, being a landlord, and fending off a belligerent (and well-armed) neighbor, he also has to learn how to be a husband, father, and a leader of the people. Then the fateful night his son is finally born, Minalan learns the nature of fear, as he, his family, and his very realm are forever changed when the spell he casts to save their lives transforms the land. Minalan, his apprentices Sir Tyndal and Sir Rondal, his dour but efficacious castellan Sir Cei, and his moody wife struggle through the winter and defend their domain in his attempt to prove what a Magelord can do for his people when he puts magic in their service. But in the distance, the threat of a renewed war with the goblins looms as they approach the Riverlands, the Gilmoran baronies that are the heart of the Duchies. The contentious High Magi convene to constitute the new Arcane Orders, while the fanatical Royal Censorate of Magic plots to defeat them, and the thousands of hedgemagi, witches, and footwizards they terrorized now see Minalan as a hero. The sinister family schemes to promote Duke Rard II to become King Rard I of the newly united Kingdom of Castalshar - over a pile of bodies, if necessary. And suddenly, out of the sky, fall dragons in the service of the Dead God to strike at the strength of the nascent Kingdom. How can Sire Minalan fight goblins, plots, poverty, and politics, all from his remote and rustic vale, while keeping the peasants in line and the Warbird of West Fleria at bay? With wit, courage, determination, and a healthy dose of magic. And when the new king tasks him to find a way to slay a dragon, an ordinary knight might shy away from the quest. For Sire Minalan, it's just another day on the job as a magelord!
©2017 Terry Mancour (P)2017 Podium Publishing
Knights Magi
Summary
Opposites attack! When the Magelord Minalan, the Spellmonger's two apprentices, Tyndal and Rondal, were knighted after the battle of Timberwatch, they were dubbed Knights Magi: a new class of nobility for distinguished High Magi. Designed to combine the pursuit of arcane knowledge with the noble aspirations of chivalry, it elevated them above common warmage...in theory. The problem was they had no idea how to be a Knight Mage...because no one had ever been one before. And as a couple of half-trained rustic apprentices from the Mindens they did not feel up to the task or the high ideals of their title. But Master Minalan the Spellmonger decided to cure that ignorance. He arranges for Tyndal and Rondal to be tutored and trained together in their new vocation, learning the arts of magic, the craft of warfare, and the subtleties of chivalry from the finest masters in the kingdom. If they didn't kill each other, first. The two young spellmonger's apprentices from the Minden mountain domain of Boval Vale have much in common: both had their homes destroyed, they were both sent into exile by the goblin invasion, and they both serve the same master. Yet they could not be more different. Rondal is quiet, bookish, and introspective, dedicated to the disciplines of academic magic and anticipating a future of study, service, and, perhaps, romance. Tyndal is bold and brash: an extroverted over-achiever with dreams of glory, gold, and girls. Fate, circumstance, and the whims of the gods have forced them together, but the raw emotions of adolescence and the trauma of war put them at each others' throats with depressing frequency. Master Minalan can't have that, especially not in his fragile new domain with another baby on the way...so he sends them on the road. Jealousy, anxiety, passion, and frustration conspire to make them rivals - but if they don't figure out a way to learn to work together, and quickly, then their stubborn feud could end up affecting the fate of the entire war. Along the way they pick up some enemies, gain a few allies, master a few new skills, and attempt to learn the laws of love. But as they stumble through their lessons and learn to master their tempers, they discover that the strongest bonds between men are forged by the most difficult of trials. For after they become proficient at magic, war, and errantry, they are put to the test in the field, the most difficult of circumstances...a mission where the strength of their friendship and the quality of their honor may be what defines them best as - Knights Magi!
©2017 Terry Mancour (P)2017 Podium Publishing
The Book of Longings
Summary
"An epic masterpiece that is a triumph of insight and storytelling." (Associated Press) “A true masterpiece.” (Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed) Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by O, the Oprah Magazine, Good Morning America/ABC-TV, Good Housekeeping, Bustle, Time, Marie Claire, and The Millions. An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from the celebrated number one New York Times best-selling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with 18-year-old Jesus changes everything. Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana’s pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome’s occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history. Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus’s life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman’s bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.
©2020 Sue Monk Kidd (P)2020 Penguin Audio
High Mage
Summary
Rock Star! Things were starting to look up for Magelord Minalan the Spellmonger: The magic mountain in his domain not only made him a wealthy man and the most powerful mage in history, it also produced a lode of magical gemstones with unique properties - properties the Alka Alon, the masters of magic on Callidore, are fascinated by. When Minalan gets his chance to trade some of his magic rocks for irionite, he finds himself in a position to raise hundreds more magi with the stones...making them High Magi. But as valuable as that bargain is for prosecuting the war with the Dead God and his sinister armies, such power comes with a hefty price. Every new High Mage Minalan raises presents potential new problems. The Magelords have inspired fear in their neighbors. The warmagi invent deadly new spells. The lower orders of magi are getting restless. The mage-led Sevendor Town wants a new charter. King Rard and the royal court are pressuring the nascent Arcane Orders politically. Some magi are crossing the Penumbra and taking stones from the goblins as well as taking their service. And some are just starting to get a little crazy. It makes a nice, normal little raid on his lands seem refreshing in its simplicity. In trying to balance the needs of the war with the needs of a well-ordered Order, Minalan finds himself making compromises, cutting deals, and bargaining what power he has in a high-stakes game where Chaos seems to be the only player who knows the rules. The temptations of his position and the power he wields are great, but so, he discovers, are the responsibilities. But when his patience seems nearly exhausted and his alliances seem ready to crumble, a massive army emerges from the shadowy realms and strikes south, forcing the High Magi to rally around the Spellmonger in defense of the kingdom. As the genocidal goblin army marches toward the once-prosperous cottonlands of Gilmora, Minalan and his High Magi must defend a single bridge against them at all costs. And they are ready to. But the plans of magi count little when the powerful and subtle mind of the Dead God opposes them. For when the die is cast and the first blow is struck, it becomes clear that nothing is as Minalan had foreseen. As disaster looms for the humani kingdom and even the Alka Alon are threatened, only a desperate appeal to divinity, a dangerously risky adventure and a little classy enchantment offer any hope against calamity. For the day has come when all that stands between ruin and survival is the bravery and cunning of the Spellmonger and his High Magi!
©2017 Terry Mancour (P)2018 Podium Publishing
Spellmonger
Summary
Nominee, 2018 Audie Awards — Fantasy Minalan gave up a promising career as a professional warmage to live the quiet life of a village spellmonger in the remote mountain valley of Boval. It was a peaceful, beautiful little fief, far from the dangerous feudal petty squabbles of the Five Duchies, on the world of Callidore. There were cows. Lots of cows. And cheese. For six months things went well: He found a quaint little shop, he befriended the local lord, the village folk loved him, he found a sharp young apprentice to help out, and, best yet, he met a comely young widow with the prettiest eyes. Then one night Minalan is forced to pick up his mageblade again to defend his adopted home from the vanguard of an army of goblins - gurvani, they call themselves - bent on a genocidal crusade against all mankind. And that was the good news. The bad news was that their shamans were armed with more magical power than has been seen since the days of the ancient Imperial Magocracy - and their leader, a mysterious, vengeful force of hate and dark magic, is headed directly to Boval Vale, along with a massive invading army of gurvani. The good people of Boval and their spellmonger have only one choice: to hole up in the over-sized Boval Castle and hope they can endure a siege against hundreds of thousands of goblins. When the people look to him for hope, Minalan does his best, but the odds are depressing: there are multitudes of goblins, and they want Boval Vale as a staging ground for a vengeful invasion of the whole Five Duchies. Add to his troubles a jealous rival mage, a motley band of mercenaries, a delusional liege lord who insists victory is at hand despite the hordes at his door, a dour castellan, a moody, pregnant girlfriend and a catty ex-girlfriend who specializes in sex magic - all trapped in a stinking, besieged castle with no hope of rescue, and you'll understand why Minalan is willing to take his chances with the goblins. All that stands between the gurvani horde and the people of the Five Duchies is one tired, overwhelmed baker's son who wanted nothing more than to be a simple village spellmonger.
©2011 Terry Mancour (P)2017 Podium Publishing
Journeymage
Summary
The latest book in the Audie-nominated Spellmonger series. Minalan’s Summer Vacation! What does the most powerful wizard in the world do after the war is over? Despite the hordes of goblins still ready to ravage human lands, King Rard has signed a treaty with them, so Minalan is forbidden from taking advantage of their weakened state. Most would take a well-deserved rest over the summer…but Minalan and his household are busy repaying a favor owed to the tribal Kasari for their help in the war, and the Spellmonger pays his debts. So Minalan spends his summer sneaking 2,000 Kasari children through enemy lines, goblin territory, hostile Wilderlords, and through some of the roughest territory in the Five Duchies toward salvation. But the Spellmonger soon learns that not even the help of a goddess is going to be sufficient to contend with the realities of the quest. Despite his best efforts and some of the most advanced magic seen since the Magocracy, the march attracts enemies…and far too many friends. For when the desperate refugees of the war-torn Alshari Wilderlands see the well-fed legions of Kasari march by, they cannot help but follow, even if they have no idea of the destination. Any life is better than the hopeless existence they’ve lived avoiding starvation and the goblins’ stewpot. And the promise of hope the great march of the Spellmonger’s children offers is just too good to pass up. Security and the promise of a brighter future lie just on the other side of the border with the duchy of Castal. The problem is that the Duke of Castal, Prince Tavard, who is also Minalan's titular overlord, is dead-set against a single Alshari refugee crossing his frontier - and he’s assembled a small army to stop any from doing so. With political pressure high and the very gods maneuvering behind the scenes, it’s going to take some clever magic, some inspired legal maneuvering, and some serious effort to pull off this miracle… but that’s the kind of job the Spellmonger does in Journeymage!
©2018 Terry Mancour (P)2018 Podium Publishing
Enchanter
Summary
Minalan the moody! Meanwhile, back at the castle...Minalan the spellmonger faces the boredom of house arrest after being confined to his lands by Prince Tavard for his defiance with the Wilderlands refugees. The Alka Alon have returned to their seclusion, dealing with their own crisis, the dead god is being quiet within the Umbra, and Min’s plans toward reestablishing a functional Duchy of Alshar are progressing. Min sees his punishment as a unique opportunity to indulge in thaumaturgical research. When the Sevendor Magic Fair brings a tide of enchanters eager for snowstone, irionite, and opportunity to his door (as well as the newly formed Arcane Knights of Nablus, the successors of the Censorate in Merwyn), Minalan uses his wealth and position to invite them to stay on in Sevendor over the winter and focus on the developing art of enchantment. He forms the first Bouleuterion, a conclave of enchanters dedicated to producing and researching the creation of magical items, since the fall of the Magocracy. Such notable enchanters as Lanse of Bune, Taren, and Masters Andalnam and Cormoran arrive to help Minalan and his staff of experts push the frontiers of magical science as far as he can. Even Lorcus, Tyndal, and Rondal help out. His secret mission is, of course, to fathom the complexities of the secret Snowflake of Sevendor, the enigmatic pseudo-molopor created from Minalan’s fevered subconscious...but not before they improve the lot of the peasantry by creating a wealth of labor-saving (and potentially socially revolutionary) devices. But enchanters and former Censors are not the only ones to arrive at the fair: Baron and Baroness Greenflower, Magelords Dunselen and Isily, come to Sevendor as well...and the results are explosive. Before they depart Minalan’s entire life is thrown into doubt. Especially when a new divinity appears to make him an offer the spellmonger just can’t refuse. As Minalan works through his psychological issues by obsessively focusing on his craft, he must also nimbly maneuver his way around an inevitable war between Sendaria and Sashtalia, protect his vulnerable domains, deftly negotiate his course through the tangle of feudal law and obligation in the Bontal Vales, and contend with his troubled marriage. His frustration, guilt, and doubt are soon revealed to be authored by a secret plot against him. The return of an old enemy and the revelation of new foes challenges his position as head of the Arcane Orders and puts his entire family in jeopardy. Could it be that Minalan’s new 11-year-old apprentice, Ruderal, is the only one capable of seeing through the deceptions in time to save them all even as he struggles with his own guilt about his role in releasing Korbal the undead Demon God from his tomb? Or will their fates lie on the whims of a former lover who has ambitions of her own for Minalan?
©2018 Terry Mancour (P)2019 Podium Publishing
Court Wizard
Summary
When Pentandra got married and took a new job, she knew it would be tough. Ducal Court Wizard is supposed to be the cushiest of assignments for a mage, full of stipends, laboratories, and expense funds. But when you join the Orphan Duke’s expedition to reclaim, recapture, and restore his shattered realm to health, you have to expect things to be...less cushy. With the south in full rebellion, the goblins stirring on the northern frontier, and the summer capital being run by a corrupt baron and a gang of thugs, things could be better. But those aren’t the worst of her problems: Pentandra is learning how to live with her new husband, Arborn, while the town is driven to distraction by an incarnate sex goddess who is organizing all of the whores, a mopey spellmonger, a nun addicted to gambling, a prude sent by the queen, undead skulking through the shadows, and a mysterious blind girl shows up in her office claiming to be her new apprentice! It’s enough to drive any woman mad, but Pentandra is not just any woman...she’s the hope of the Alshari Wilderlands, the woman everyone knows as the Court Wizard!
©2018 Terry Mancour (P)2019 Podium Publishing
Necromancer
Summary
Company’s Coming! Just when Baron Minalan the Spellmonger figured out there was a slim chance to restore his mind-shattered wife Alya (if he's willing to journey to the undercaverns of Olum Seheri, the lair of Korbal the Necromancer), things start to go awry: not only does Prince Tavard, his unloved liege lord, decide to conduct an official state visit to Sevendor on pilgrimage to the Everfire on the Briga's feast day, but a mysterious seamage appears at his door with an intriguing offer from the Sea Folk who rule Callidore: They want to buy snowstone. An entire mountain of it. Between feuding factions of Alka Alon and the contentious nobility of his own kingdom, Minalan is already in arcane intrigue up to his pointy hat, but when the foremost wizard of the age has problems, he also has resources. Before the pilgrimage concludes it sets mighty actions in their courses, and even the gods elect to intervene publicly in Minalan's life. Minalan realizes that he has little choice but to consider an impossible quest into the heart of his enemy's realm, to the caverns of the dead, themselves, if he is to resolve the many conflicts in play. He must recover an ancient artefact of the Sea Folk known as the Handmaiden, and in order to do so he will have to organize the most audacious raid on the most horrific foe in humanity's history on Callidore! Who else but Minalan the Spellmonger has the magic stones to challenge the undead might of the Necromancer!
©2017 Terry Mancour (P)2020 Podium Publishing
Shadowmage
Summary
Rescuers. Avengers. Thieves. Spies. The life of a knight mage is never easy, but sometimes the gods smile on you and grant you an errand of incredible complexity...without regards to casualties. When Tyndal and Rondal, journeymen wizards and knights errant, travel to southern Alshar to rescue a helpless boy and his mother, it sets in motion a series of events that will shake the foundations of the Five Duchies! While they are beginning their quest against the vast criminal gang known as the Brotherhood of the Rat, the two knights encounter the Cats of Enultramar, a family of shadowmagi (masters of shadow, illusion, and obfuscation) and high-class thieves who help them discover a plot to attack the rich lands and prosperous people of Alshar, from the Wilderlands to the Great Bay...and only Rondal and Tyndal can stop them. From thugs and thieves to irate Censors of Magic to dragons and undead, the intrepid pair face the challenges of a new land and an old enemy. For when a new, powerful threat in the form of the Necromancer of Olum Seheri looms against them, the brave young knights magi can only hope to defeat it with the help of a...shadowmage! Includes special bonus story The Spellmonger's Yule!
©2016 Terry Mancour (P)2019 Podium Publishing
Thaumaturge
Summary
The Spellmonger in exile! When Minalan the Spellmonger was exiled from his beloved mageland of Sevendor by Prince Tavard, his friend Duke Anguin made him Count Palatine of the Magelaw, a vast realm in the Alshari Wilderlands with which Minalan is all too familiar. After the goblin invasion, the province is devastated, ruined, and peopled almost only by freed slaves. But Minalan has brought his recovering wife and family into exile with him, and he views their impoverished fief as an opportunity to build a new City of Magi in the wilderness. To assist, he recruits some of his closest friends among the High Magi: Mavone, the military intelligence specialist; Sandoval, the marshal in charge of recruiting Minalan’s army; Carmella, whose genius for defensive magics will be key; Gareth, whose ambition to create knows no bounds; and Terleman, perhaps the greatest tactical warmage of his time. Together, Minalan knows that they can build his new city, Vanador, into an anvil that can blunt the thrust of the dark forces that rise against them. For the first of three Nemovorti have come to the Penumbra, and Gaja Katar has vowed to wipe humanity from the face of the world. Yet he is far from the worst of Minalan's worries. For the powerful Sea Folk have sent an emissary to see the Spellmonger, and the news he bears will change the fate of all. Minalan's only hope is to rely on his cunning and his ability as a Thaumaturge!
©2019 Terry Mancour (P)2020 Podium Publishing
Hawkmaiden
Summary
The Falcon’s Call! From the moment Dara of Westwood spied the Silver Headed Raptor nesting in Rundeval Peak, the precocious redheaded 12-year-old girl was enchanted. The youngest daughter of the Master of the Wood lived in ramshackle Westwood Hall, in the independently minded Westwood estate of Sevendor. Her determination to capture a baby falcon and train it wasn’t hampered by the fact that Dara had never climbed a mountain, had never been trained in falconry, or even remotely had permission from her father to do it. Dara wanted the falcon...and the only thing in her way was the mountain, an angry mother falcon, and her own fears. But the daring climb up Rundeval and actually capturing the fledgling falcon is just the beginning of her troubles. Actually learning falconry and training the willful bird is a responsibility she had barely considered. Worse, there is trouble afoot in the domain: A new lord has come to rule over Sevendor and all of her people, replacing the corrupt old Sir Erantal. While everyone welcomes the change, the new lord is a wizard: a magelord, the first of his kind in 400 years: Lord Minalan the Spellmonger. And he’s not alone. He’s brought thousands of oddly dressed Wilderlanders with him, families escaping the wars in the west...and settling in Sevendor. Within weeks of holding his first court as lord of Sevendor, the wizard's magic begins to cause problems. Magelord Minalan turns Sevendor Castle, the entire mountain of Rundeval, and a good portion of the Westwood - including Dara’s home - into enchanted white stone when a spell goes unexpectedly awry one fateful night. As a result, Dara learns that she, too, may become a mage someday. Soon after she discovers that she can see through her falcon’s eyes and share her thoughts, the talents of a beastmaster, opening up a brilliant new world for her. The folk of the valley have enough to eat for the first time in a generation, there are wizards all over Sevendor, and the castle glows with a magic light at night. The fortunes of the Westwood estate rise. But the Magelord finds foes as well as friends in Sevendor. Though prosperity flows from the Magelord’s benevolent rule, the changes are frightening to some who have lost power since the Magelord came. Outside the Westwood, the other natives of the domain are upset by their magical lord and his strange new people, and there are whispers of rebellion. And outside of the domain, the neighboring lords, urged on by sinister forces, conspire to plunge Sevendor into war - with Dara and her family along with it! What can one girl and her falcon do? When the Magelord leaves on business and his enemies close in on her home, Dara discovers she may hold the answer to saving them all! The fate of the entire domain rests with Dara of Westwood, the girl they’ll call the Hawkmaiden!
©2015 Terry Mancour (P)2019 Podium Publishing
Arcanist
Summary
A Belligerent Springtide! Being the most powerful wizard in the world can be a challenge.... After defending his fledgling realm against the undead lord Gaja Katar all winter long, Count Minalan of the Magelaw faces a new threat in the spring: the Nemovort Shakathet, favored of Korbal, leading the mighty hordes out of the Penumbra. This time, Minalan faces a real strategist; one who drives his armies with purpose and efficiency. The road to war leads through Megelin Castle and the vulnerable lands to the south of Vanado. Old enemies will become allies, and old friends will become valuable assets. War, however, is not what is preoccupying Minalan; the knowledge of the end of the world is. As he broods on existential issues and debates with various goddesses and Alka Alon about Calidore’s fate, he must overcome his own fears and anxieties and impose order on the situation before everything goes into the chamber pot. The solution? Hire an arcanist, a specialist in the obscure and trivial, to organize and investigate the many matters Minalan has to manage and bring them to order.
©2020 Terry Mancour (P)2020 Podium Audio
Hawklady
Summary
When Lenodara the Hawkmaiden - Dara, to her friends - was made an apprentice to the foremost wizard in the world, Minalan the Spellmonger, Magelord of her native land of Sevendor, she thought that the adventurous life was behind her. She looked forward to a long, boring career of learning how to read and taking magic lessons...but Dara’s life as the Spellmonger’s new apprentice is anything but boring! Within days of assuming her new duties, a goblin invasion in the distant land of Gilmora compels Minalan to gather his forces to repel it...and that means Dara, too. Her unique ability to use the ancient Alka Alon weapon, the Thoughtful Knife, may be the only way to thwart the invasion - and combat the dragons that have ravaged the castles of the land. But the battlefield is just the beginning of her new adventure, and she finds the aristocracy of the city of Barrowbell is as challenging as a goblin attack. But new adventures lead Dara to new friends in the unlikeliest of places on her way to becoming the Hawklady!
©2017 Terry Mancour (P)2019 Podium Publishing
The Spellmonger's Honeymoon: A Spellmonger Novella
Summary
It was a simple rhyme, a honeymoon folk blessing from the Riverlands, Minalan's home. Seven bottles of mead to share. For seven nights or more. Each cup a toast, each sip a wish. To bind their lives forevermore: A bottle first for happiness, a bottle then for health. A bottle for togetherness, a bottle next for wealth. A bottle sipped for harmony, the equilibrium of desire. A bottle savored for purest lust, which brings the marriage fire! A bottle last for love to endure as long as life shall last, saved for they who toast their love when five full years have passed! But those seven bottles of mead were more than just a folk blessing. As Lord Minalan the Spellmonger began his honeymoon on a decadent river barge with his very pregnant bride, he had no idea that the occasion would have anything more complicated than eating, drinking, and making love on the agenda. But a frantic message from one of the Tree Folk indicating he and Alya may be in danger compels him to skip the lazy repose and travel to a far away ruin to speak with a possibly crazy Alka Alon mage - Lilastien, the Sorceress of Sartha Wood. After river pirates, trolls, and the sheer difficulty of adjusting to married life, the answers to the questions he has for her may be more than he, his wife, and his marriage can handle. Come sail down the languid Burine river with the Spellmonger, and see how seven bottles of mead and a pregnant bride can turn a holiday jaunt into a potential interspecies disaster! Note: This novella fits chronologically just before the events of Magelord, book three.
©2014 Terry Mancour (P)2019 Podium Publishing
Sky Rider
Summary
Lady Lenodara of Westwood, called the Hawkmaiden - Dara, to her friends - has had an adventurous life: She tamed a falcon when she was 12, learned she had magical talent, discovered that she had a natural aptitude as a beastmaster, won her witchstone at the first Spellmonger’s Trial, became the junior apprentice to Minalan the Spellmonger, Magelord of Sevendor, mastered the ancient magic of the Thoughtful Knife, fought goblins and a dragon, and was made a noble and richly rewarded for her heroics. Now that she’s safe back home in Sevendor, everything should go back to normal...right? But a secret project with the Alka Alon Emissary, Ithalia, leads Dara to new troubles and adventures, as the Hawkmaiden assumes new responsibilities. Lady Ithalia wants to use magic to transform her falcon, Frightful, into a giant, so that she and other giant hawks can defend the Five Duchies against dragons in the air. Each hawk is to be ridden by a Sky Rider to aid the fight - and Dara is to be the first. When Minalan purchases 20 hawks and hires a falconer to aid her efforts, Dara is tasked with building a mews to house them in the Westwood...and encounters her most difficult opponent yet: her father. Hawkmaiden vs. Master of the Wood, father vs. daughter, Castle Folk vs. Woodfolk, Dara has to choose sides and made compromises in order to see her task completed without bothering the Spellmonger. But fighting a dragon seems simple compared to challenging the Master of the Wood in his own land. With bandits milling around Sevendor and the threat of exposure for the giant falcon project, Dara has to learn new skills and understand an entirely different kind of magic if she’s to become the first Sky Rider!
©2018 Terry Mancour (P)2019 Podium Publishing
The Road to Sevendor
Summary
The very first Spellmonger anthology! Includes two audio exclusive stories, Stonesinger and The Ugliest Maid in Castal. Contains four previously unpublished Spellmonger short stories, "The Wizard of Birchroot Bridge", "The Secret of Westwood Hall", "The Road to Sevendor", and "The Iron Ring", including the full and complete versions of the previously published The River Mists of Talry, Victory Soup, and The Spellmonger's Wedding. Enjoy these scraps from the Spellmonger's table and the fantasy world of Callidore - where they put the evil back into medieval!
©2013 Terry Mancour (P)2020 Podium Audio
Sizzling Sixteen
Summary
Trenton, New Jersey, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has inherited a "lucky" bottle from her Uncle Pip. Problem is, Uncle Pip didn't specify if the bottle brought good luck or bad luck.... Bad Luck: Vinnie, of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, has run up a gambling debt of $786,000 with mobster Bobby Sunflower and is being held until the cash can be produced. Nobody else will pay to get Vinnie back, leaving it up to Stephanie, office manager Connie, and file clerk Lula to raise the money if they want to save their jobs. Good Luck: Being in the business of tracking down people, Stephanie, Lula, and Connie have an advantage in finding Vinnie. If they can rescue him, it will buy them some time to raise the cash. Bad Luck: Finding a safe place to hide Vinnie turns out to be harder than raising $786,000. Vinnie's messing up Mooner's vibe, running up pay-per-view porn charges in Ranger's apartment, and making Stephanie question genetics. Good Luck: Between a bonds office yard sale that has the entire Burg turning out, Mooner's Hobbit-Con charity event, and Uncle Pip's lucky bottle, they just might raise enough money to save the business, and Vinnie, from ruin. Bad Luck: Saving Vincent Plum Bail Bonds means Stephanie can keep being a bounty hunter. In Trenton, this involves hunting down a man wanted for polygamy, a turnpike toilet paper bandit, and a drug dealer with a pet alligator named Mr. Jingles. Good Luck: The job of bounty hunter comes with perks in the guise of Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, and the dark and dangerous security expert, Ranger. With any luck at all, Uncle Pip's lucky bottle will have Stephanie getting lucky - the only question is...with whom? Sizzling Sixteen - so hot, it might spontaneously combust!
©2010 Evanovich, Inc (P)2010 Macmillan Audio
The Fortunes of Africa
Summary
A sweeping history of the fortune seekers, adventurers, despots, and thieves who have ruthlessly endeavored to extract gold, diamonds, and other treasures from Africa and its people. Africa has been coveted for its rich natural resources ever since the era of the pharaohs. In past centuries, it was the lure of gold, ivory, and slaves that drew merchant-adventurers and conquerors from afar. In modern times, the focus of attention is on oil, diamonds, and other rare earth minerals. In this vast and vivid panorama of history, Martin Meredith follows the fortunes of Africa over a period of 5,000 years. With compelling narrative, he traces the rise and fall of ancient kingdoms and empires; the spread of Christianity and Islam; the enduring quest for gold and other riches; the exploits of explorers and missionaries; and the impact of European colonization. He examines, too, the fate of modern African states and concludes with a glimpse of their future. His cast of characters includes religious leaders, mining magnates, warlords, dictators, and many other legendary figures - among them Mansa Musa, ruler of the medieval Mali empire, said to be the richest man the world has ever known.
©2014 Martin Meredith (P)2019 Hachette Audio