A Handful of Men Series by Dave Duncan

Beautiful Queen Inos married the loyal stableboy Rap and made him her king. They were very much in love, and they lived happily ever after.Fifteen years went by Rap and Inos were comfortable, secure, and truly happy, raising their family in the little backwater kingdom of Krasnegar, well removed from the hurly-burly of great affairs...But in far-off Hub, the old Imperor's health -- and, some said, his sanity -- deteriorated inexorably... moreBeautiful Queen Inos married the loyal stableboy Rap and made him her king. They were very much in love, and they lived happily ever after.Fifteen years went by Rap and Inos were comfortable, secure, and truly happy, raising their family in the little backwater kingdom of Krasnegar, well removed from the hurly-burly of great affairs...But in far-off Hub, the old Imperor's health -- and, some said, his sanity -- deteriorated inexorably. The borderlands were seething, Prince Emshandar -- or Shandie, as Rap knew him -- found himself leading his grandfather's armies into terrible battles where victory and justice hung in gravest doubt.And now the end of the millennium was at hand, ushered in by prophecies of cataclysmic upheaval on a scale never before imagined. All across Pandemia, sensible people tried to dismiss a growing sense of unease as superstitious nonsense.Then a God appeared to Rap and warned him that the prophecies spoke the least of the truth. Devastation was a certainty; total destruction loomed. The very fabric of the world was at risk. And it was all Rap's fault.The last thing in the world Rap had wanted was another adventure. And it might be the last thing he would ever get.. less

Come the millennium…The Impire should have been in turmoil. The Protocal that kept tenuous peace among Pandemia’s sorcerers had been overturned. The rightful imperor had been driven from his throne by the power-mad dwarf-sorcerer, Zinixo. And the millennium was grinding inexorably to a cataclysmic close.But life proceeded with a smooth efficiency that argued years of planning. For Zinixo had spent a long time plotting his revenge... moreCome the millennium…The Impire should have been in turmoil. The Protocal that kept tenuous peace among Pandemia’s sorcerers had been overturned. The rightful imperor had been driven from his throne by the power-mad dwarf-sorcerer, Zinixo. And the millennium was grinding inexorably to a cataclysmic close.But life proceeded with a smooth efficiency that argued years of planning. For Zinixo had spent a long time plotting his revenge.Stealthily, year after year, he had recruited an army of slave-sorcerers. Now his Covin was the greatest concentration of magic ever seen on Pandemia, each member ensorcelled to serve Zinixo’s every whim. And the Covin could detect the use of power by others. Over time, they would track down and “recruit” every free sorcerer in Pandemia.With the Covin behind him, Zinixo had plucked the Impire like a ripe piece of fruit. Somehow Shandie, the rightful imperor, had escaped his clutches, but the imperial fugitive would be found soon enough. Meanwhile the dwarf-sorcerer placed a substitute on the throne, weaving an illusion of Shandie so seamless that even the imperor’s intimates could never tell the difference between real and false.Once Zinixo got his hands on Shandie and his heir, the Impire would be his alone. Soon all the outlying countries, from Nordland to Zark, would follow suit. Then it would be time to wreak fabulous revenge upon King Rap of Krasnegar…Rap was a sorcerer, but his skills were only a shadow of their former strength…Shandie couldn’t hope to rally support, not when everyone knew the imperor was in Hub, carrying on business as usual…and every free sorcerer in Pandemia was in hiding.It was one heck of a way to start a revolution! less

A king resists a sorcerer’s rule over the Impire in this fantasy series from the Aurora Award–winning author of the Man of His Word novels. Paranoid but almighty, the sorcerer Xinixo had seized control of the Impire. But ruling the imps and most of the world was not enough. He would never feel safe until he was universally loved, so he would smash everything and then rebuild the whole world in his own insane image... moreA king resists a sorcerer’s rule over the Impire in this fantasy series from the Aurora Award–winning author of the Man of His Word novels. Paranoid but almighty, the sorcerer Xinixo had seized control of the Impire. But ruling the imps and most of the world was not enough. He would never feel safe until he was universally loved, so he would smash everything and then rebuild the whole world in his own insane image. Who could resist him?  King Rap of Krasnegar and Shandie, the rightful imperor, were still at large and determined to resist the evil, however slender their chances. Their one, faint hope was to enlist the help of the remaining free sorcerers of the world, those not already spellbound by Xinixo. Their quest soon ran into disaster. Their messengers were betrayed or ensnared. A rampaging goblin army had captured Shandie and was about to torture him to death. Rap was mired in a tropical jungle, hoping his wife and children were safe back home in Krasnegar. They were not in Krasnegar and certainly not safe. As the flames of war raged across Pandemia, news of the disasters penetrated even into Thume, the Accursed Land. Outsiders believed that the pixies had been extinct for a thousand years, but they still lived there, hoarding their magic. Their ruler, the Keeper, adamantly refused to meddle in events outside her borders, but one young pixie girl was prepared to rebel against the ancient order . . . less

War had engulfed the whole world. The imposter imperor ruling in Hub was the tool of the paranoid and almighty sorcerer Xinixo, who wielded the combined power of thousands of sorcerer slaves. And yet, despite his seeming omnipotence, the pathetic few who resisted him were still at liberty, even making a little progress. Xinixo’s prime foe, Rap of Krasnegar, had rallied troll sorcerers to the cause and was about to try enlisting the incomprehensible elves... moreWar had engulfed the whole world. The imposter imperor ruling in Hub was the tool of the paranoid and almighty sorcerer Xinixo, who wielded the combined power of thousands of sorcerer slaves. And yet, despite his seeming omnipotence, the pathetic few who resisted him were still at liberty, even making a little progress. Xinixo’s prime foe, Rap of Krasnegar, had rallied troll sorcerers to the cause and was about to try enlisting the incomprehensible elves. Fortunately, for his sanity, he did not know that his daughter, Kadie, had been carried off by goblin invaders or that his son, Gath, was heading for stark Nordland to deal with the fearsome jotnar, or that his wife, Inos, was in Guwash, negotiating with gnomes. Shandie, the rightful imperor, was with her, unaware that his wife, Impress Eshiala, believed him dead and had fled with Signifer Ylo, that notorious rake. And none of them knew about the sorcerers of Thume, especially the rebel pixie girl, Thaïle, who chafed against the secret binding of a thousand years. But the odds were still impossible and Longday was fast approaching. The sorcerers of the world foretold blood on Longday. less