Necrobane

Aelis de Lenti never wanted to be the Warden of Lone Pine, a tiny village on the outskirts of Ystain, but she has come to consider it and its residents hers to protect. Now that she has sort of accidentally opened the crypts of Mahlgren and raised an army of skeletal warriors upon the land, Aelis definitely has her work cut out for her. Hope lies in a grand source of necromantic power at the heart of Mahlgren, but Aelis cannot do it alone. Joined by her half-elf mercenary lover Mauritania, half-orc friend Tun, and the dwarven merchant Timmuk, Aelis must find a way through mysterious curses, a presumed-dead warden foe, and the undead to save Lone Pine and prevent the restart of a deadly war. Starting right from the end of the first book, Ford continues to build the characters' arcs through their journeys, and readers will be clamoring for the final book to see what happens next. VERDICT The sequel to Ford's Warden is a delightful epic fantasy, filled with strong worldbuilding and a great cast of characters.--Kristi Chadwick