cover image The Warrior King

The Warrior King

Chris Bunch. Warner Books, $19.99 (384pp) ISBN 978-0-446-67456-0

The conclusion to Bunch's well-received fantasy trilogy (The Seer King; The Demon King), this brawny story of war and power--both political and supernatural--offers much enjoyment but no satisfying closure. Ex-Tribune Damastes frees himself from prison, only to resume the war that put him there. He confronts or is courted by various factions, including Tenedos, the demon-commanding emperor he betrayed, and the Tovieti, the secret society that killed his lover. As he fights, Damastes heals old wounds and finishes old business, falling in love with a Tovieti sorceress named Cymea, with whom he combines forces against Tenedos. Yet Damastes's experiences also affirm that he is born to be a warrior, not a politician, and the novel ends with Numantia's future leadership uncertain. Is Bunch laying the ground for another trilogy? The author's writing is clear and vivid; his well-delineated battle scenes are especially strong, presenting unexpected combinations of sword and sorcery. Though the magic here lacks some of the grandeur and strangeness of that in other fantasies, Bunch's depictions of town and military life offer the consolation of a welcome realism. (Feb.)