The second book in John Jakes’ Conan tribute series continues Brak’s journey southward toward Khurdisan only to have his path forced into a side adventure by the powers that be. Nordica is a beautiful sorceress intent on capturing Brak’s life force to further her own evil ends but just in case that isn’t enough, there is something deeper behind her sinister plot. Events from previous stories converge as Brak finds himself in the lair of none other than the followers of Yob-Haggoth, the big bad of the series. Brak’s old nemesis Septegundus as well as Ariane have prominent roles to play in this adventure as well.
I enjoyed this novel quite a bit more than the first book, probably because this was a single novel-length adventure (even though originally published in serial form) instead of a series of connected short stories. It allowed for much better character development and that “getting-to-know” Brak serves the series well. I almost always enjoy these sorts of sword and planet adventure stories and am willing to overlook the occasional over-the-top writing or plot hole. Jakes does a better job than most however and it was clear even back in 1963 that he would have a nice writing career ahead of him.
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