cover image The Horsemen’s Gambit: Book Two of Blood of the Southlands

The Horsemen’s Gambit: Book Two of Blood of the Southlands

David B. Coe, . . Tor, $26.95 (365pp) ISBN 978-0-7653-1639-4

In this intense and appealing sequel to 2007’s The Sorcerer’s Plague , clan rivalry continues apace. The plague-cursed baskets that Lici of the Mettai wove in revenge against the marauding Qirsi have traveled far, razing entire villages. The unsuspecting and unaffected Eandi peddlers who carried the baskets are now the focus of anger, fear and hatred. When news of the epidemic reaches the Forelands, Capt. Tirnya Onjaef decides to take advantage of the chaos and march south with a small Eandi army. Series hero Grinsa the Weaver, still a prisoner of the Fal’Borna, tries to find Lici and halt the plague, only to learn that he and his captors are susceptible to it. Coe steps up the tension and raises the stakes, leaving readers quivering in anticipation of book three. (Jan.)