Gonji Series by T.C. Rypel, Thomas Schichtel

The Book of Death...and of Life. The Carpathian city of Vedun is poised for holocaust: terrifying monsters, vile magic, and brutal mercenaries are arrayed against the anxious secret militia by the multiple-lived King Klann. Vedun's new military leader--the half-breed samurai, Gonji--must seek the aid of the powerful nightmarish creature, Simon Sardonis, who shuns all mankind... moreThe Book of Death...and of Life. The Carpathian city of Vedun is poised for holocaust: terrifying monsters, vile magic, and brutal mercenaries are arrayed against the anxious secret militia by the multiple-lived King Klann. Vedun's new military leader--the half-breed samurai, Gonji--must seek the aid of the powerful nightmarish creature, Simon Sardonis, who shuns all mankind. But when the inevitable clash explodes, when the ghastly struggle to protect and evacuate hundreds of innocents begins, will Gonji's efforts be enough? Will treachery prove the city's undoing? Can any remnant of a ravaged and brutalized populace be saved from the horror? Or will Gonji's now passionately embraced quest abruptly end with the...DEATHWIND OF VEDUN? The startling conclusion to a great epic fantasy trilogy! German fantasy writer Kai Meyer writes: "GONJI is the most important rediscovery of classic fantasy since Conan. Dark, complex, and fantastically well written!" less

This is the second book of what I have come to refer to as "The Deathwind Trilogy." I wrote a single massive novel, under the title DEATHWIND OF VEDUN, that Zebra Books decided to release in three parts.My original title for this part of my three-part novel was THE SOUL WITHIN THE STEEL. That's the title of the 2013 re-issue by Borgo Press, currently available in paper and soon as an e-book.

This is the third part of "The Deathwind Trilogy," as I have come to call it, though it was written as one massive novel and later divided into three books by publisher Zebra. The original title of this final part was DEATHWIND OF VEDUN, which Zebra used for the first volume.This book is the culmination of halfbreed samurai Gonji Sabatake's effort to rouse a city in the escarpments of the Carpathians to rebel against an invading army of mercenaries, monsters and magick... moreThis is the third part of "The Deathwind Trilogy," as I have come to call it, though it was written as one massive novel and later divided into three books by publisher Zebra. The original title of this final part was DEATHWIND OF VEDUN, which Zebra used for the first volume.This book is the culmination of halfbreed samurai Gonji Sabatake's effort to rouse a city in the escarpments of the Carpathians to rebel against an invading army of mercenaries, monsters and magick. The fates of dozens of characters the reader has come to care about hang in the balance, as a days-long running battle rages through the city, its environs, and the breached castle of Baron Rorka.It is here also that Gonji will encounter an eerie being with whom his destiny has long been intertwined---the enigmatic Simon Sardonis. less

Renegade half-breed samurai Gonji Sabatake has left the survivors of devastated Vedun, certain that his unknown Enemies---with their mysterious agenda, their monsters and their sorcery---are gathering strength for yet another attack on him and his allies. Seeking the aid of misanthropic werewolf Simon Sardonis, Gonji treks into a 16th-century Spain wracked by eerie supernatural forces... moreRenegade half-breed samurai Gonji Sabatake has left the survivors of devastated Vedun, certain that his unknown Enemies---with their mysterious agenda, their monsters and their sorcery---are gathering strength for yet another attack on him and his allies. Seeking the aid of misanthropic werewolf Simon Sardonis, Gonji treks into a 16th-century Spain wracked by eerie supernatural forces. Trapped by his adversaries, Gonji is held captive by fanatical power in the torture-dungeons of the Inquisition. He learns of the evil cabal that enslaves multiple worlds and has wrought its venomous power in the highest offices of the medieval Church. Condemned to burn at the stake, Gonji is mystically counseled by a witch whose knowledge of sorcery and science compels him to somehow escape. For he must lead a refugee army, under pursuit of human and sorcerous assassins, in a flight across dark seas and into the interior of darkest Africa. There, to seek a bizarre castle's gateway to warped spatial anomalies, and learn his singular importance to the destiny of a system of concentric worlds. But will that incredible revelation empower or destroy him?Could any single warrior be expected to undertake the burden of such a quest? And even with the uncertain help of the powerful lycanthrope Simon, can Gonji survive the secrets of the... FORTRESS OF LOST WORLDS? less

The final published book in the GONJI series finds Gonji and his companions committed to aiding the tormented lycanthrope Simon Sardonis against a tyrannical family of shape-shifters, in a haunted territory in France. Adding complication to the conflict is the fact that the sadistic Farouche are Simon's own kin from another sphere of the fractured system of concentric worlds.My original title for this book is A HUNGERING OF WOLVES... moreThe final published book in the GONJI series finds Gonji and his companions committed to aiding the tormented lycanthrope Simon Sardonis against a tyrannical family of shape-shifters, in a haunted territory in France. Adding complication to the conflict is the fact that the sadistic Farouche are Simon's own kin from another sphere of the fractured system of concentric worlds.My original title for this book is A HUNGERING OF WOLVES.Three more books are planned, and partially written, which would complete Gonji's quest to free the age-old system of Arcadian worlds from an ancient tyranny that denies all sentient beings their rightful access to countless worlds offering unlimited room and wondrous bounty.Additionally, I have planned three pre-Vedun books---the "young Gonji" tales, as it were---which bring him from prophesied birth to the pivotal actions and portentous encounters in the Vedun action.Will they ever see print? Recent renewed interest in the series, resulting in foreign-language editions and audio releases, may yet usher in a new era of Gonji's flashing blades and mystical adventures. less