synopsis
By Crack, Key, and Cauldron! Nifft the Lean, our spirited and wily thief extraordinaire, has proclaimed his second coming in the novel-length adventure, The Mines of Behemoth.
Travel the man whose long, rawboned, sticky fingers and stark length of arm will lead you down to the vermiculous grottos of the demon sea, to stand beneath the subworld's lurid sky and battle monsters who seem the spiritual distillation of human evil itself!
Here his treacherous journey is made just a touch less daunting with the axe and mace wielding Barnar Hammer-Hand by his side. That is, even if his colleague was the catalyst for the whole trek, which finds them navigating the seas around the Angelheim Islands, roving the plains of Latter Kairnlaw, and negotiating the quartz-lined sap mines of the Broken Axle Mountains. A most perilous quest if there ever was one! But when the allure of bountiful riches is a proven draw, this pair cannot evade its pervasive clutches.
As expected, their escapades end as a poacher’s enterprise, but their long journey begins with the humblest of intentions. Barnar’s nephew, Costard, the owner of the mines, is down on his luck. His workforce has dwindled, and financial ruin is imminent. And though he may be an avaricious, young mogul with questionable, if not, disreputable business practices, he is Barnar’s blood. So help is on the way, and it’s in the form of Nifft and Barnar, who agree to work the mines and rescue his company. If only victory was that easy!
Though the mines may hold a king’s ransom in saleable sap, extraction is a tricky endeavor. For it isn’t the mine walls that secrete the lucrative substance. Offspring from the giant Behemoth beasts that inhabit the mines require siphoning for this most precious of bodily fluids. But it takes specialized equipment, a steady hand, and even camouflage to avoid detection. Without it, death is a certainty.
And even though blood may be thicker than water, our heroes’ kindly motives are influenced by more than just a family member’s plea for help. A chance encounter with a hivery owner has forced their sticky hands, driving them further in search of The Royal Brood Chamber hidden deep within the cavernous mines. But if siphoning larva grub risks certain death, what chance do they have against the almighty Queen?
If bucking Behemoths and dodging demon devourment are among your favorite pastimes, then Michael Shea’s The Mines of Behemoth is the sword and sorcery thriller that’s been hailing your name. But at a minimum, survival requires outrunning winged, parasitic tubeworms, braving the Forager surge, and captaining the Bounty on its maiden voyage to freedom. For these tasks may be your only means of escape. And you know Nifft is already equipped and eager for what’s coming next.
The specifications for this set are: one book, printed in four colors and two colors throughout, bound in black cloth, with printed endpapers, stunning dustjacket, top-edge stain, and ribbon marker.
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