The author took the time to layout the backgroud at The Cutting Edge (For fifteen years, Queen Inos and King Rap have ruled Krasnegar peacefully, but now darkness encroaches. When a royal family grows tyrannical and armies wage war along the Impire’s borderlands, Rap ignores them—until he learns the Protocol, a treaty controlling the use of magic, is in danger of being destroyed). Then the progression on how the escapees took up the resistance, organized and rallied to overturn Xinixo in Upland Outlaws, and The Sticken Field. The end of the war came as a bit of surprise, but I am glad that I pick up this series.

Upland Outlaws: The mad dwarf, Xinixo, rules as the imperor, enchanting his subjects and enemies to believe he is Shandie, the rightful ruler. Wielding the combined power of all the sorcerers under his control, he destroys or enslaves any who oppose him. But his greatest enemies, King Rap and the true Shandie, will stop at nothing to end his reign.

The Stricken Field: The sorcerer Xinixo still rules the Impire, but King Rap and Shandie continue to resist his reign, enlisting the help of the remaining free sorcerers of the world to destroy him. Their chances of victory remain slim . . . until a young pixie girl decides to join their cause.

The Living God: The imposter Xinixo continues to rule as war wages in the Impire. The troll sorcerers have joined the resistance and Rap is rallying the elves to his cause. His wife, Queen Inos, and Shandie negotiate with gnomes while the sorcerers of Thume and the pixie girl secretly organize a resistance to Xinixo’s rule. But the odds are against them as the prophesied Longday draws nearer. ( )