A Stranger to Command

Last updated
A Stranger to Command
A Stranger to Command.jpg
Author Sherwood Smith
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy novel
Publication date
August 2008
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages480 (first edition, hardback)
ISBN 1-934648-55-8 (first edition, hardback)

A Stranger to Command (2008) is a fantasy novel written by Sherwood Smith. It was written as a prequel to her first published work that takes place on the actual Sartorias-deles, Crown Duel .

Contents

Synopsis

Vidanric Renselaeus, fifteen-year-old Marquis of Shevraeth, finds himself sent across the continent to a military academy in Marloven Hess, a kingdom known for its violent history. Vidanric is used to civilized life in pleasant Remalna—except that the evidence is increasingly clear that the civilization is only on the surface. Too many young, smart heirs have suffered accidents of late, and the evidence is beginning to point to the king, Galdran, who has grandiose plans for expansion.

In Marloven Hess, no one can pronounce his real names, and they assume his title is his name. He becomes Shevraeth—discovering that there are no marquises or dukes or barons in this kingdom, and no one has the slightest interest in Remalna. Or in foreigners. Until very recently, the academy was closed to outsiders. But the king—also fifteen, and recently come to his throne after a nasty civil war—wants him there.

Learning about command turns out to be very different from what Shevraeth had assumed, and the Marlovens, who are going through political and social change at all levels, are not at all what he expected. He makes friends as well as enemies; experiences terror and laughter as well as challenges on the field and off.

He discovers friendship, loyalty—and love.

All the while greater events in the world are moving inexorably toward conflagration, drawing the smartest of the young people into key positions—whether they want it or not. They're going to have to be ready.

Publishing history


Related Research Articles

<i>Mahabharata</i> Major Hindu epic

The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Smriti texts and Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered in Hinduism, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon</span> Biblical monarch of ancient Israel

Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was a Jewish monarch of ancient Israel and the son and successor of King David, according to the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. He is described as having been the penultimate ruler of an amalgamated Israel and Judah. The hypothesized dates of Solomon's reign are from 970 to 931 BCE. According to the Bible, after his death, his son and successor Rehoboam adopted a harsh policy towards the northern tribes, eventually leading to the splitting of the Israelites between the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south. Following the split, the biblical narrative depicts his patrilineal descendants ruling over only the Kingdom of Judah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yahweh</span> Ancient Levantine deity

Yahweh was an ancient Levantine deity, and national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Mark S. Smith stated in 2017 that there was a consensus that Yahweh was a war god originating from the Seir, Edom, Paran and Teman region. Momentum has been shifting away from this perspective and there is not uniformity in the literature. Theomorphic personal names show that Yahweh was not widely worshipped before the Omride dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eadwig</span> King of England from 955 to 959

Eadwig was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were young children when their father was killed trying to rescue his seneschal from attack by an outlawed thief on 26 May 946. As Edmund's sons were too young to rule he was succeeded by his brother Eadred, who suffered from ill health and died unmarried in his early 30s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antiochus X Eusebes</span> King of Syria

Antiochus X Eusebes Philopator was a Seleucid monarch who reigned as King of Syria during the Hellenistic period between 95 BC and 92 BC or 89/88 BC. He was the son of Antiochus IX and perhaps his Egyptian wife Cleopatra IV. Eusebes lived during a period of general disintegration in Seleucid Syria, characterized by civil wars, foreign interference by Ptolemaic Egypt and incursions by the Parthians. Antiochus IX was killed in 95 BC at the hands of Seleucus VI, the son of his half-brother and rival Antiochus VIII. Antiochus X then went to the city of Aradus where he declared himself king. He avenged his father by defeating Seleucus VI, who was eventually killed.

<i>The Bourne Identity</i> (novel) 1980 spy novel by Robert Ludlum

The Bourne Identity is a 1980 spy fiction thriller by Robert Ludlum that tells the story of Jason Bourne, a man with remarkable survival abilities who has retrograde amnesia, and must seek to discover his true identity. In the process, he must also determine why several shadowy groups, a professional assassin, and the CIA want him dead. It is the first novel of the original Bourne Trilogy, which also includes The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.

The Eighth Dynasty of ancient Egypt is a poorly known and short-lived line of pharaohs reigning in rapid succession in the early 22nd century BC, likely with their seat of power in Memphis. The Eighth Dynasty held sway at a time referred to as the very end of the Old Kingdom or the beginning of the First Intermediate Period. The power of the pharaohs was waning while that of the provincial governors, known as nomarchs, was increasingly important, the Egyptian state having by then effectively turned into a feudal system. In spite of close relations between the Memphite kings and powerful nomarchs, notably in Coptos, the Eighth Dynasty was eventually overthrown by the nomarchs of Heracleopolis Magna, who founded the Ninth Dynasty. The Eighth Dynasty is sometimes combined with the preceding Seventh Dynasty, owing to the lack of archeological evidence for the latter which may be fictitious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kebra Nagast</span> 14th-century text about the Solomonic dynasty in Ethiopia

The Kebra Nagast, var. Kebra Negast, or The Glory of the Kings, is a 14th-century national epic of Ethiopia, written in Ge'ez by Nebure Id Ishaq of Aksum. The text, in its existing form, is at least 700 years old and is considered by many Ethiopian Christians to be a historically reliable work. It is considered to hold the genealogy of the Solomonic dynasty, which followed the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Sherwood Smith is an American fantasy and science fiction writer for young adults and adults. Smith is a Nebula Award finalist and a longtime writing group organizer and participant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neferefre</span> Pharaoh of Egypt

Neferefre Isi was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II. He was known as prince Ranefer before he ascended to the throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyramid of Unas</span> Fifth Dynasty Egyptian pyramid complex

The pyramid of Unas is a smooth-sided pyramid built in the 24th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Unas, the ninth and final king of the Fifth Dynasty. It is the smallest Old Kingdom pyramid, but significant due to the discovery of Pyramid Texts, spells for the king's afterlife incised into the walls of its subterranean chambers. Inscribed for the first time in Unas's pyramid, the tradition of funerary texts carried on in the pyramids of subsequent rulers, through to the end of the Old Kingdom, and into the Middle Kingdom through the Coffin Texts that form the basis of the Book of the Dead.

<i>Inda</i> (novel) 2006 novel by Sherwood Smith

Inda is a fantasy novel by Sherwood Smith, published in 2006. It is the first installment in a quartet of books which act as an historical prequel to Smith's other books set in Sartorias-deles, the world which she has been "writing about since [she] was eight years old". Inda's story takes place in the southern hemisphere of this planet.

<i>The Fox</i> (Smith novel) 2007 novel by Sherwood Smith

The Fox is the continuation of the story of the fictional protagonist Inda.

Norilana Books is an independent publishing company, founded in August 2006 and based in the United States. It is operated and owned by Vera Nazarian. Norilana publishes reprints of previously published Science Fiction and Fantasy works, including the novels of Modean Moon. More recently, Norilana has been publishing several series of original anthologies, including Clockwork Phoenix, edited by Mike Allen, Warrior Wisewoman, edited by Roby James, and Lace and Blade edited by Deborah J. Ross. The company was selected to continue the publication of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress series of short story anthologies, edited by Elisabeth Waters. Norilana Books also publishes classics of world literature under the Norilana Books Classics imprint and works of genre fiction including young adult fantasy under the YA Angst imprint. Other imprints include: Curiosities, Leda, and TaLeKa, which is dedicated to author Tanith Lee.

<i>Senrid</i>

Senrid is an original fantasy novel by Sherwood Smith published in May 2007 by Norilana Books, reissued by Book View Cafe.

<i>Crown Duel</i> Book by Sherwood Smith

Crown Duel is a 2002 young adult fantasy novel written by American author Sherwood Smith, originally published as two separate books, Crown Duel (1997) and Court Duel (1998). Both stories take place in the fictional land of Sartorias-deles, a fantasy world Smith has written about since her youth. The first book follows the adventures of young Countess Meliara "Mel" Astiar of Tlanth as she and her small group of forces rebel against the greed of King Galdran; along the way the mysterious Marquis of Shevraeth aids her, though she distrusts him. With the king now dead, the second part focuses on Mel's journey to the court in Remalna-city, where she must navigate court intrigues surrounding Shevraeth's rise to power as king. In 2008 Smith also published a prequel about Shevraeth: A Stranger to Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter von Hess</span> German painter (1792-1871)

Peter Heinrich Lambert von Hess was a German painter, known for historic paintings, especially of the Napoleonic Wars and the Greek War of Independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prehistoric Orkney</span> Overview of the prehistoric period on the Orkney Islands, Scotland

Prehistoric Orkney refers only to the prehistory of the Orkney archipelago of Scotland that begins with human occupation. Although some records referring to Orkney survive that were written during the Roman invasions of Scotland, “prehistory” in northern Scotland is defined as lasting until the start of Scotland's Early Historic Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinrich XV, Prince Reuss of Greiz</span> Austrian Field Marshal (1751–1825)

Heinrich XV, Prince Reuss of Greiz was the fourth of six sons born into the reigning family of the Principality of Reuss. At the age of fifteen he joined the army of the Habsburg monarchy and later fought against Ottoman Turkey. During the French Revolutionary Wars he became a general officer and saw extensive service. He commanded a corps during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1801 until his death, he was Proprietor (Inhaber) of an Austrian infantry regiment.

Eustache Charles Joseph d'Aoust was a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars.