Summary

The Shuttered Country

The four adventurers had barely survived the assassination attempts of the false Ares. But now the counterfeit God of War has sealed Ingram's homeland Aegeia away, stealing the power of Athena's barrier that even gods cannot penetrate, to complete his plan to destroy the Cycle of the Gods and Aegeia itself. The four of them must find a way past the Seal of Athena – something never done in the history of all the Cycles. And even after passing through the terrible trials that the Seal places before them, they cannot begin to grasp what monstrous things await them in Aegia – and none more monstrous than Raiagamor, the shapeshifting abomination who wears the face, form, and power of Ares, God of War.

Yet Raiagamor does not grasp what he will face either, for the four heroes each have their own secrets unsuspected: for Urelle, the depth of her magic; for Ingram, the power of his past; for Quester, the legacy of his people; and for Victoria, the wisdom of her soul.

Author Biography

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Ryk moved with his family to Vermilion, South Dakota, then Atlanta, Georgia, and later to Latham, NY, before settling in Schenectady, NY. As an effort-induced asthmatic, he was often confined indoors, spending much of his time reading and, eventually, writing—getting those first million words out of the way early! While he enjoyed science books, particularly on volcanology, his favorite childhood reads were the Oz novels by L. Frank Baum.

In junior high, a teacher gifted him a battered, slightly scorched copy of E.E. "Doc" Smith's Second-Stage Lensmen, which permanently sparked his sense of wonder and set him on an inevitably geeky quest to become a science fiction writer. In high school, he discovered computers and RPGs, running the very first play-by-email (PBEM) roleplaying campaign from 1977 to 1980. It was during this time that he adopted the online alias "Sea Wasp," which he continues to use today.

Over the years, Ryk earned degrees in mathematics and science, psychology, and information science. His diverse work experience includes everything from fast-food jobs to an internet-bubble filesharing company to Borders Books. He currently serves as the R&D Coordinator for International Electronic Machines.

Along the way, he became a Usenet fixture, an RPG consultant and writer, an anime fan, and—ultimately—achieved his dream of becoming a science fiction author when Baen Books published his debut novel, Digital Knight. Since then, he has published over 25 novels across multiple genres, including:

The grand-scale space opera Grand Central Arena and its four sequels
The hard-SF Boundary series
The epic fantasy Balanced Sword trilogy (Phoenix Rising, Phoenix in Shadow, and Phoenix Ascendant)
The Godswar duology (The Mask of Ares and The Spear of Athena)
The magical girl novel Princess Holy Aura
Collaborations with his wife Kathleen on her Fall of Veils series

Ryk E. Spoor now lives in Troy, NY, with his wife Kathleen, their four children, a flock of chickens, and two dogs.

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