Age of Conan: The Eye of Charon [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard A. Knaak (Author)

Book Description

Series: Age of Conan | Publication Date: September 26, 2006

Nermesa Klandes abandoned a life of opulence to join the Aquilonian army, and serve the great King Conan. Earning rank and respect through his courage and loyalty, he was made an officer in the elite warrior band known as the Black Dragons.

But when his first assignment ends in bloodshed, it marks the beginning of the young knight’s most perilous test. Caravans from Aquilonia’s neighbors are being set upon and slaughtered by an unknown enemy. Assigned to ride with a caravan, Nermesa is pulled into a diabolical plot of dark magic and demonic powers that threatens to shake Aquilonia to its very foundations—and bring King Conan to his knees...

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Fall into darkness

 Nermesa chopped apart his inhuman adversaries without pause. Much to his distress, though, his arm grew heavy, his legs weary. Yet, there was still no end in sight to the demon’s woodland horde.
 He struggled up a ridge, the upward path slowing his pace, enabling the monstrous imps to gain on him. Several grabbed hold of his legs, his torso, and wrapped around his helmet, obscuring his vision. Unable to see exactly where he was going, Nermesa waved his weapon about wildly.
 Then, his left foot touched not earth but air. He toppled forward, still in the clutches of his inhuman adversaries. Nermesa frantically swung the sword, determined to fight until the end.
 His helmet slipped from his head. A moment later, Nermesa’s skull impacted against something harder than it...

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ace; First edition (September 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441014453
• ISBN-13: 978-0441014453
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,201,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard A. Knaak is the New York Times bestselling author of some three dozen novels, including the The Sin War trilogy for Diablo and the Legend of Huma for Dragonlance. He has penned the War of the Ancients trilogy, Day of the Dragon and its upcoming followup, Night of the Dragon. His other works include his own Dragonrealm series, the Minotaur Wars for Dragonlance, the Aquilonia trilogy of the Age of Conan, and the Sunwell Trilogy -- the first Warcraft manga. In addition, his novels and short stories have been published worldwide in such diverse places as China, Iceland, the Czech Republic, and Brazil.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A step down, April 13, 2007

By 

Somyunguy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Age of Conan: The Eye of Charon (Mass Market Paperback)

In the second volume of the "Soldier's Quest" series set in ancient Hyborea, our reluctant hero is back (and still very reluctant). But this time It's definitely uninspired compared to the first.
It'll keep you turning pages as the hero gets into a ridiculous amount of back to back bad situations and through an improbable amount of luck and determination, keeps escaping them.
This book has an absurd amound of truly awful, derivative place and character names, a good example of which is one of the main antagonists; "Set-Anubis." The writing and story itself feel very adolescent.
There are constant action and fight scenes, but unfortunately they are extremely repetitive, using the same sparse phrases and descriptions; poorly and clunkily described and written.
Ever been attacked by a "...ball and chain mace..."?
None-the-less, the main character rises through the ranks and saves the day to become bestest buds with Palantides and Conan himself.

I can't recommend #2.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun in the Conan tradition, January 4, 2007

By 

TamReese (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Age of Conan: The Eye of Charon (Mass Market Paperback)

I eyed the Age of Conan series for a while. I finally picked A Soldier's Quest at random (I liked the cover).

I have to say that I enjoyed it and bought the second installment. It is pure action, with just a splash of character development - but isn't that what Conan was all about?

This book reminded me of the old Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms books I used to read as a child before they went over the deep end. There's magic and monsters, but not so much that you feel like you are on another planet. Howard's Hyborean Age was earth after all, albeit a very primitive pre-historic earth with creatures that (we hope) are now extinct. I, personally, prefer it when the hero is freaked out by sorcery if they're not magic users themselves. If magic were common, then it wouldn't be magic anymore - it might be more of a science. Here, there are no magic lamps or portals to other dimensions as everyday fare. This is a world where the hero trusts to his steel and the farmer to his crops. Anything else is unnatural and must be treated as such.

I'll let you know what I think of the second installment as soon as I finish it, but I can say that I'll return to Hyborian Adventures for my quick Sword and Sorcery fix every now and then.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun in Hyboria, May 17, 2010

By 

Ricardo Serrano "Photogeek" (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Age of Conan: The Eye of Charon (Mass Market Paperback)

Not too shabby, a decent romp into the world of Conan.. without Conan. I think he has a cameo but otherwise not a bad story. Interesting series I found this well worth the time and price.