Beppe Fenoglio

"Two thousand Italian partisans took the city of Alba on October 10, 1944, and two hundred lost it to the Fascists on November 2. Among the bedraggled fighters in this historic twenty-three-day siege was Beppe Fenoglio. He later made his debut as a writer with The Twenty-three Days of the City of Alba, a collection of short stories based on his experiences as a soldier in the resistance movement. The book went on to become a fixture of Italian literature and now, on the fiftieth anniversary of its original publication, it appears for the first time in English.". "After five decades, Fenoglio's spare, direct prose still strikes with the staccato-like ring and force of rifle fire. He creates an intimate and unvarnished portrait of his fellow partisans: an ill-equipped, malnourished mix of trained soldiers, eager farmboys, and broken old men. Antiheroes in the classic sense, they all but bumbled their way into playing a crucial role in the Allied victory of World War II, then returned home to nurse the psychological and physical wounds that lingered long after the echoes of the victory parade had faded."--BOOK JACKET.

War has erupted in the Banished Lands as the race for power intensifies. Corban flees his homeland searching for peace, but he soon discovers that there is no haven in the west as the agents of Rhin and roaming bands of giants hound his every step. Veradis leaves the battleground and rushes to his King's side. But he has witnessed both combat and betrayal and his duty weighs heavily upon him. Maquin seeks only revenge, but pirate slavers and the brutal world of pit-fighting stand in his way. Nathair becomes embroiled in the wars of the west as Queen Rhin marches against King Owain. The need to find the cauldron of the giants drives him on. Sides are chosen and oaths will be fulfilled or broken in a land where hell has broken loose.