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by Robin Hobb (Author)
A thrilling epic fantasy tale about a noble's son destined for a distinguished military career...until he is stricken by a mysterious illness. First in the international bestselling Solder Son Trilogy.
Nevare Burvelle, the wealthy son of one of Vania's new noble families, is destined for greatness. Bright and well-educated, an excellent horseman with an advantageous engagement and a secured place in Vania's cavalry, Nevare is distinguishing himself at the cavalry training academy when he falls victim to Speck disease, a mysterious illness associated with the little understood race of forest people.
Sent home from the academy, rejected by his family and fiancee, Nevare ultimately takes a position at the isolated outpost on the foothills of the Barrier Mountains, where he is charged with developing trade with the Specks and protecting the settlers from attack by raiders. As he learns more about the Specks he is strangely drawn to their way of life--and to a beautiful Speck woman.
Back Jacket
Nevare Burvelle was destined from birth to be a soldier. The second son of a newly anointed nobleman, he must endure the rigors of military training at the elite King's Cavella Academy—and survive the hatred, cruelty, and derision of his aristocratic classmates—before joining the King of Gernia's brutal campaign of territorial expansion. The life chosen for him will be fraught with hardship, for he must ultimately face a forest-dwelling folk who will not submit easily to a king's tyranny. And they possess an ancient magic their would-be conquerors have long discounted—a powerful sorcery that threatens to claim Nevare Burvelle's soul and devastate his world once the Dark Evening brings the carnival to Old Thares.
