City of Sand

This volume of the “A War of Banes & Demons” series takes a completely different direction from the first two books, City of Demons and City of Masks. Instead of following the two main characters from the opening books, City of Sands takes the story south into the hot desert lands and beyond where three of the other characters from the Bane Hall, Vinir, Dorict and Marick, have been dispatched to seek any word there of the demons that have plagued our heroes. Another main character in this new adventure is Yala, a sandwalker and a young woman of the deadly desert lands.
Restless young Marick creates problems for the others by getting himself kidnapped by slavers, an event which leads to a pursuit into the desert by his comrades and some new friends from the City of Fountains who follow after him. They have several adventures, are joined by the sandwalker Yala, and Marick is rescued and reconciled, but not before he loses a leg in the process.

Additional materials include a one-page map of the lands plus three pages listing the characters’ names and closes with an author’s note. All chapters begin with headings such as “Red Sand” and “The City of Fountains.”

With a vivid description of the imaginative Sandwalker culture and life trying to survive in a deadly ocean of sand, Harkness adds varied and interesting characters readers can become involved with and care about. City of Sands should appeal to readers who enjoy a fast-moving fantasy tale in an unfamiliar world filled with monsters, human villains, and the sometimes very flawed heroes.