Product Description

A gripping tale of the ancient Middle East! "Behold a warrior woman as ruthless, bloody, and honorable as the ancient world in which she walks, spanning more than forty lifetimes, while Ur and Babylon seethe with a thousand gods... What we have here is no less than a bright new epic, written with the bold spirit of the 21st century, yet spanning back into the mists of time. From Michael Ehart's fierce imagination comes an unforgettable gritty heroine, both human and goddess, and yet something much more... Gilgamesh, Elric, and Conan have finally met their female match!" -- Vera Nazarian, author of DREAMS OF THE COMPASS ROSE and LORDS OF RAINBOW

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1521993 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

Ehart Gets it Right
The Servant of the Manthycore is a compilation of several short stories featuring a tragic, morally equivocal, but truly likable protagonist--a deadly warrior woman in a very small package who reminds us that we often do beautiful and awful things for love because we are human and cannot help it.

The stories are terrificly paced, filled with plenty of sword-and-sorcery action, and leave the reader pondering in the mist between right and wrong. Ehart skillfully treads the familiar ground of old myths while blazing a trail for a new one. This is part of what great fantasy is all about.

I do wish Ehart would have fleshed out the setting a tad more. I feel he could have described the Middle Eastern Bronze Age in more detail while maintaining the swift movement of the story--though this is a delicate balance.

Despite this, Ehart imbues Servant with the gritty flavor of the Pulp Era while maintaining his own distinct and modern style. Readers who enjoy the stories and style of Robert E. Howard, Harold Lamb, and other historical fiction authors from the early 20th century will enjoy this book, as will readers of modern fantasy.

I definitely recommend it.

Serveant of the manthycore
How do you like your heroic fantasy? Well written? Michael Ehart is a stunning talent. He weaves a cast of complex, vividly drawn characters in morally difficult situations against a well crafted hisotrical/mythos backdrop and then proceeds full speed with his story.

This is a one sitting book. Adventure, battle, the eternal power of love, betrayal, ambiguous decisions by courageous characters. I can't give this book enough praise.

You're rooting for the protaganist and her doomed love the entire way and through each sword stroke and strategic argument and clever, duplisitous maneuver.

A must read.

For more than fantasy readers...
I read Servant of the Manthycore on the recommendation of a friend. I was frankly skeptical, because shy of a couple of heavy-duty classics, I simply don't like to read fantasy. I find the attention to the "worlds created" typically outweighs the attention to the characters revealed. Not so here! Ehart pulls from a known world (expertly and factually), and while it's far enough removed from our own to solidly qualify as fantasy, it freed him to create a fascinating heroine and story. I like my characters morally ambivalent...people who do what they know they gotta do -- but suffer exquisitely and privately for their conviction. The Servant is that and more. She is a warrior woman hell-bent, literally, yet utterly sympathetic. (Buffy who?!) This book is fast-paced, terrifically-written, and character-driven - and it is both heart-breaking and optimistic. Buy it today - you won't put it down until you're done with it.