Brak the Barbarian

Brak the Barbarian is a fantasy novel by John Jakes featuring his sword and sorcery hero of the same name. It was first published in paperback by Avon Books in July 1968. The chapters titled "The Courts of the Conjurer" and "Ghosts of Stone" originally appeared as in different form as the "The Pillars of Chambalor" and "The Silk of Shaitan" in the magazine "Fantastic Stories", in v. 14, no. 3, March 1965, and v. 14, no. 4, April 1965, respectively. The April issue featured the Brak story in its title illustration. The novel was reprinted by Pocket Books  in July 1977, and by Tower Books in April 1981. The first trade paperback edition was published by e-reads.com in 1999. British editions were issued by Tandem in 1970 (reprinted in 1976) and Star/W. H. Allen in December 1987. It was later gathered together with The Mark of the Demons and two stories from The Fortunes of Brak into the omnibus collection Brak the Barbarian / Mark of the Demons, published as an ebook by Open Road Integrated Media in July 2012. The novel has been translated into German  ==Plot==Brak, a blond, braided and broadsword-wielding barbarian from the frozen north, is an outcast from his people for questioning the traditional war gods. He seeks to reach the glorious southern realm of Khurdisan the Golden, rumors of which have reached even his country. His first stop is the city of Kambda Kai, once great but now afflicted by worshipers of the demon god Yob-Haggoth. Here too his religious skepticism gets Brak in trouble, immediately bringing him into conflict with the corrupt and evil cult. He wins free, but the demon worshipers and their foul monsters infest all the lands between him and his goal, and in consequence every step of his journey brings new challenges, including the soul-taking Septegundus and the witch Ariane. The novel (and indeed the series) deals with Brak's episodic quest as he overcomes threat after threat, with the dream of Khurdisan ever before him. ==Notes==