The Reluctant King
The Reluctant King is an omnibus of the novels The Goblin Tower, The Clocks of Iraz and The Unbeheaded King.
To rise from commoner to king would seem a remarkable stroke of luck.
But King Jorian of Xylar had reason to dispute that. For in Xylar a new king was chosen every five years – by decapitating the old one and
throwing his head to a waiting crowd.
Jorian had reached the end of his reign, yet he faced death with
courage and rather unseemly good humor. He neither broke down at the
weeping of his favorite wife nor begged for help from spectators.
Because, clearly, the only help for King Jorian now lay with his
spiritual advisor.
Of course things would have been different if the crowd had realized
that Jorian's spiritual advisor was, in truth, a wizard. Or if Jorian
himself had known that his bargain with the magician – escape from Xylar
in return for help stealing a collection of sorcerous manuscripts – would lead him to adventures every bit as perilous as the fall of an
executioner's blade!
So beings THE RELUCTANT KING: a trio of full-length novels – The Goblin
Tower, The Clocks of Iraz and The Unbeheaded King – in one capitvating
volume.
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (1907–2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. His writing career spanned over fifty years. He wrote novels and works of nonfiction.
The Reluctant King
The Reluctant King consists of three primary books, and includes one additional book that complement the series but is not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series The Novarian Series
