With Inos married to the wrong man and Rap dying in a dungeon, obviously the cause is hopeless. Only Aunt Kade refuses to admit defeat . . . Dave Duncan, born in Scotland in 1933, is a Canadian citizen. He received his diploma from Dundee High School and got his college education at the University of Saint Andrews. He moved to Canada in 1955, where he still lives with his wife. He has three grown children and four grandchildren. He spent thirty years as a petroleum geologist. He has had dozens of fantasy and science fiction novels published, among them A Rose-Red City, Magic Casement, and The...

Originally published: New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.

The tale of Magic Casement begins gently, even slowly, with Inosolan enjoying an idyllic childhood in a tiny backwater kingdom, too carefree and innocent even to understand that the feelings she shares with her friend Rap are more than friendship. Mystery, menace, and the gods appear in short order, and from then on the story grows in scope and power to straddle the world, and adversity thrusts rapid maturity on Rap and Inos. Populated by unforgettable characters-Aunt Kade, Little Chicken, Doctor Sagorn, and many more-Pandemia is an incredible world of credible people and infinite surprises....

Inos, hunted now by the fearsome warlock wardens who rule the world, is convinced that Rap is dead. But Rap is not, and the tide may be about to turn . . .She thought he was dead. Queen Inos feels Rap's presence as if he has risen from the grave to be beside her, but she knows all that is left of him is his voice, which echoed in her mind-well, so she thinks. Her duty is to serve her people, and Queen Inos does not know her galley slave, Rap, is alive and, with his magic wand, trying to bring happiness to his beloved queen. But when the evil Nordland raider, Kalkor, arrives in port, Rap's...