Now in mass-market paperback—<i>Apocalypse Now</i> meets <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> in a bold new fantasy from the acclaimed author of the Iron Elves trilogy, filled with “heroic action that keeps fans coming back” (<i>Publishers Weekly</i>).<br><br>A land of thick jungle and mist-swirled mountains. An enemy moving unseen beneath the lush canopy. The growing threat of thaumics—a magic wielded by few that threatens to destabilize all. The youth of a kingdom sent to fight in a faraway hell while back home, discord and disillusionment reign…<br><br>Fantasy author Chris Evans masterfully pushes the boundaries of the genre in his brilliant, groundbreaking new epic, a unique and penetrating vision channeling the cultural upheaval, racial animus, and wholesale destruction of the Vietnam War. Plunging deep into the heart of a moral and mortal darkness, reluctant soldiers in the distant nation of Luitox struggle for survival and for meaning amid a blazing drama of blood and magic. They will duel a ghostly enemy, fight to understand their roles in a sprawling maelstrom, and ultimately wage war their way—not for glory or the Kingdom, but for one another.<br><br>“Chris Evans places the broad sword-and-sorcery archetypes squarely in a new and exciting environment” (<i>New York Times</i>bestselling author R. A. Salvatore).