Guardians of the Lost: Volume Two of the Sovereign Stone Trilogy (Sovereign Stone Series, 2)

Let me tell you the plot of this book, and you'll see how Tolkin gets in: Two people, in this case only one of them is a halfling, are getting a quest which involves carrying a magical item which is the key to rule the races of the world. They ae joined by a wise old person, which happens to be a wizard, and by warriors along the way. A dark Lord, which once owned the artifact, is also searching for it, sending his lethal, undead servants after the party. Reminds you something?Yet, even though Tolkin's effect is clear, this book makes a great reading. The plot is of course much more complicated than what I wrote above, and Weis and Hickman's amazing character building, world describing and storytelling talent, makes you read this book flowingly, and be eager for more.

200 Years after the fall of Vinnengael, after Dagarus led his army against his brother to become king and claim the Human portion of the Sovereign Stone. 200 years after the human portion was lost, it is found...Dominion Lord Gustav's life quest comes to in end as he finds the lost Sovereign stone. But all is not well, A Vykral, an undead creature of the Void has followed him. With orders to claim it. And a race to collect all portions of the stone commences.This book was great. One of Weis and Hickman's best to date! They explain everything in such detail is as almost as if you are there in the fray. The character really come to life, gone are the normal straight forward evil characters. They develope them really well, giving some there own subplots that may well end up playing a huge role in the third and final book in this series.Do yourself a favor. Pick up Well of Darkness if you have yet to do so. When finished pick up Guardians of the Lost. Then when finished with that, you can eagerly await the release of the third and final book in the Soverign Stone Trilogy (Journey into the Void)

From the well of darkness comes the second in the series- Guardian of the lost. 200 yrs later and Dagnarus is still trying to become king. Exellent cast of new characters along with the old EVIL ones. This book was amazing! I read it in a week! I couldn't put it down. Looking forward to the 3rd-"Journeying into the Void!" Can't wait Hurry up Weis and Hickman. YOU RULE!

For years, Dominion Lord Gustav has pursued the quixotic quest of recovering the lost human segment of the Sovereign Stone--the mystical stone that gives power to its holder and, when united with the stones held by the other races, creates a direct link to the gods themselves. Now, Gustav has finally discovered a reliable clue, but he is not alone in his search. Dagnarus, prince of the Void, seeks the stone as well. If he recovers it, he can achieve his goal of absolute control over the entire world. Although Dagnarus was frustrated in his attempt to seize power two hundred years earlier, he has regrouped his forces and prevail even if the power of the stones unites against him. With the stone, Dagnarus is unstoppable. A Dominion Lord is a powerful entity, but so are the death knights or Vrykyls that Dagnarus controls. In the conflict that follows, both are badly wounded. Unable to fulfil his quest, Gustav passes off the stone to a pair of young men who must bring the stone to safety across thousands of miles of dangerous territory. Meanwhile, Dagnarus has launched his attack and no one, especially not a pair of young men with an ancient woman, is safe. Authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman use multiple narrative paths to describe the fates of the two young men (Jessan, a human and Bashae, a pecwae), the Dwarf Wolfram, and the warrior Raven, Jessan's uncle. The relatively small number of intertwined plots allows the reader to stay grounded rather than being overwhelmed with a large number of characters and story lines. In GUARDIANS OF THE LOST, the lines between good and evil are more brightly drawn and Dagnarus never becomes a sympathetic character (unlike WELL OF DARKNESS where Dagnarus is a major protagonist). Unlike many 'middle' books in fantasy trilogies, GUARDIANS OF THE LOST is a complete and fascinating narrative with both characterization and world-building to entertain the most critical fan.

On Loerem, Gustav the knight feels the danger as he enters the magic field of a burial mound. There he sees the dying Dominion Lord surrounded by "guardians". The bakh-Lord has the Sovereign Stone, a magical stone everyone wants to possess, but it was lost for a couple of centuries. Gustav manages to work his way past each guardian until he reaches the Dominion Lord. Gustav takes the magical artifact, but leaves behind a non-magical ring that contains the love he shares with his beloved. Gustav is knocked unconscious in battle and consequently his segment of the Sovereign Stone has resurfaced. The news leads to war among the varying races. Every person in power or wannabees whether they are magical or royal want to gain possession of the powerful artifact or at least the part that Gustav found. Alliances are broken and old hatreds and bias enflame the world with little hope for peace. GUARDIANS OF THE LOST, volume two of the Sovereign Stone trilogy, is an exciting epic fantasy adventure. The story line is fast paced and the charcaters fully developed since the readers can easily delineate the different species due to reasonable distinct traits. Fans of role-playing games will especially relish this novel that mirrors the game it comes from, but other readers might object to sidebars that embellish playing rather than perusing. Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman have written an engaging tale that the role-playing crowd will find most enlightening.Harriet Klausner