The Scepter's Return: Scepter of Mercy #3

With The Bastard King and The Chernagor Pirates, New York Times bestselling author Harry Turtledove, the master of alternate history, writing as Dan Chernenko, crafted an epic fantasy of two kings divided by pride, but united in duty by their quest to reclaim the Scepter of Mercy. Now that quest has come to an end....

King Lanius has crafted a daring plan to recover the Scepter of Mercy from the fallen god known as the Banished One — a plan that must remain utterly secret lest the enemy discover and thwart it. But the Scepter lies far to the south, in lands held by the Menteshe tribes, and Lanius will need help from a military man.

King Grus answers the call. Civil war has broken out among the Menteshe, distracting them from guarding the Scepter. While King Grus fights his way to the citadel that holds the sacred talisman, Lanius puts his plan into action. But the worst nightmares of Lanius and Grus are about to come true, for the Banished One is aware of their every move....

"Like its predecessors, The Bastard King (2003) and The Chernagor Pirates (2004), the good-natured, leisurely final installment in Chernenko's Scepter of Mercy trilogy subverts the familiar fantasy tropes with its polite, understated swordplay and minimal, often mundane sorcery. In the kingdom of Avornis, an unseen array of Olympian gods and goddesses has ejected a disgruntled god known as the Banished One. He may also be unseen, but the Banished One is a noisy frequenter of the nightmares of his victims, whom he attempts with mixed success to suborn. The author excels at characterization, in particular of the pair of down-to-earth Avornis kings: Grus, the thinking man's head of warfare, and Lanius, the thinking man's thinker. The two rivals must set aside their differences if they are to regain the scepter that will thwart the Banished One's evil machinations. Some readers may be annoyed not to be let in on Lanius's secret plan to do so, though all should be satisfied with the natural, somewhat bittersweet ending that leaves the door open for further wise and humorous adventures. Agent, Russell Galen at Scovil, Chichak & Galen. (Mar. 1)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"A reader's delight." Judith Tarr

For hundreds of years, the rulers of Avornis sought to reclaim the Scepter of Mercy, their only protection from the fallen god known as the Banished One. They all failed. Now, the burden rests on the shoulders of two kings, divided by pride but united in duty.