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The cover background and interior art for this book were created by Mike May, www.mikespencil.com.
This novel, in addition to being a work of fiction, is also an exercise in literary criticism. It focuses in part on the role of heroines, echoing the sentiment captured by Marion Zimmer Bradley in her excellent review of Tolkien: “The books are, in fact, almost womanless.” Men, Halflings, and Hero Worship (1961)