Features 20 lavish illustrations, detailed maps, more. In the Service of Dragons is the continuation of Robert Stanek's multilayered epic fantasy adventure for young adults begun with The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches and continued through The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches 2, 3, and 4. In his acclaimed The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches books, he introduced us to the story of Ruin Mist, an extraordinary world of magic, adventure and intrigue. Now in the eagerly awaited follow-up, he once again proves himself a wonderful storyteller with a gift for fast pacing and believable storylines. Already hailed as a classic, Robert Stanek's powerful series has been enjoyed by readers all over the world. The Elves of the Reaches returned from exile, bringing grave news. War came to the Kingdoms. Many perished in the turmoil and unrest. An attempt was made to kidnap a princess and assassinate a king. Now, from the ancient past a dark power returns. "The Fourth Wind blows across the mountain tops," they say. And the Twelve Clans emerge from myth and memory. Bold, inventive, brilliantly imagined, In the Service of Dragons is a novel of magic and wonder-a tale of pure excitement you will not soon forget.
I'm Robert Stanek, and I've been writing stories for nearly 30 years. Though I've always been a writer at heart, I never set out to be a writer. What I wanted to be, I didn't know when I said goodbye to high school. What I wanted to do though, I knew that: I wanted to see the world--and so I did while serving my country in distant lands.
I wrote novels for more than ten years before I ever tried to get published. My big break came with a book about publishing--only a different sort of publishing than you may be thinking. The book was about web publishing and so my career in writing began. While I wrote those other books, I wrote many, many stories and books for my kids, and I collected them for a few decades, until at my children's urging I set out to get them published for others to enjoy.
I am the second youngest of five children, raised by a single mom. While stationed in Hawaii with the U.S. Air Force and working shift work, I went back to school and earned my bachelor's and master's degrees from Hawaii Pacific University. After an 11-year career in the military, I moved with my wife and children to Washington State. When I'm not writing, I can be found playing video games, reading books, or trekking the great outdoors in search of adventure with my wife and children.
It's been a fairly open secret I also write as William Stanek. You can learn more about me at http://www.robertstanek.com or at http://stanek.reagentpress.com. Find me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RobertStanekAuthor.
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