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Cenotaph Road #5

Fire and Fog

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To be caught unprotected on that plain meant certain death, and even under his magical umbrella, he sensed a new danger. The air filled with noxious gases released by the flaming rocks.

Lan Martak is still journeying the Cenotaph Road with Inyx and Krek and they find themselves in the middle of a fight with Claybore.

They have located the evil magician’s tongue, cut out when the rest of Claybore’s body was dismembered to prevent him from taking over the universe. The tongue resides in a weak leader, but Martak has to fight against Claybore’s champion despite the disadvantage.

With a combination of sorcery and swordplay, Martak defeats Claybore’s champion, but not before Claybore’s revenge, the champion’s sword thrown unerringly at Martak and cleaves his jaw from his face.

In a desperate bid to save Martak, Inyx and Krek place Claybore’s tongue in Martak’s mouth and the powerful tongue allows Martak to command himself to heal.

The group continues to travel the road in search of Claybore to defeat him yet again and prevent him from taking the universe under his control.

Strange Hereslers, dangerous fogs, and a long fight under the mountain Yerrary will lead to the heroes finding new friends, discovering the depths of magic, and perhaps lose what they hold most dear.


Praise for Robert E. Vardeman:

“Fast action, unusual characters, and fun to read!” – Fred Saberhagen

“Without a doubt, Vardeman can write an exciting page-turner!” – MyShelf.com


Robert E. Vardeman has written over fifty science fiction, mystery, western and fantasy novels. As well as his main works he has written under eight pseudonyms, venturing into game tie-in works, Star Trek novels, and short fiction. After gaining a degree in physics, he began writing for fanzines, resulting in a nomination for the 1972 Hugo Award for the Best Fan Writer. His other Venture works include Cenotaph Road, The Glass Warrior and Phantoms on the Wind.

205 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1984

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About the author

Robert E. Vardeman

164 books94 followers

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for Conan Tigard.
1,134 reviews3 followers
November 16, 2015
The characters that Robert E. Vardeman has created are some of my favorite. But Lan took a nasty turn in this story as the evil Iron Tongue in his head turns him against his friends. I didn't like that. Maybe this is needed for the conclusion to this series in the last book, Pillar of Night, I don't know. Obviously Lan must become strong enough to defeat Clarbore, but I sure hate to see him leave his friends behind. I don't think he can do it alone, even though he seems to think that he can.

The world Mr. Vardeman has created in this story is dismal. That might have has a slight impact on the way I felt about this book.

Overall, I found Fire and Fog to be a good continuation of the story and I am looking forward to seeing how this whole thing ends.

I rated this book a 7½ out of 10.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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