The Quest for Cush

Last updated
Imaro: The Quest for Cush
Imaro3.jpg
Cover of Imaro: The Quest for Cush, 1984 by DAW Books
Author Charles R. Saunders
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Imaro
Genre Fantasy novel
PublisherDAW books (first edition) Night Shade Books (second edition)
Publication date
1984 (first edition), 2008 (second edition)
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages214 pp
ISBN 978-1-59780-066-2 (USA paperback) second edition
Preceded by Imaro  
Followed by The Trail of Bohu  

The Quest for Cush also known as Imaro II: The Quest for Cush is a sword and sorcery novel written by Charles R. Saunders, and published by DAW Books in 1984. The Quest for Cush was the second book in the original Imaro Trilogy. The novel is a collection of four short stories ("In Mwenni", "In Bana-Gui", "On the Bahari Mashiriki", and "In Kush") which were originally published in Dark Fantasy, a fanzine published by Canadian comic book artist Gene Day during the 1970s.

Contents

An updated trade paperback version of The Quest for Cush was published in 2008 by Night Shade Books. It is an update of the DAW version of the novel, Saunders moves Imaro's first meeting with Tanisha and Pomphis from the last chapter in Imaro, the first book in the series, to the first chapter in The Quest for Cush.

"The Kandiss of Cush charged me to seek he who was the greatest of all warriors, seek him and return with him to Cush. For the Mashataan, the Demon Gods, are once again astir, and all Nyumbani is in danger. I have witnessed your deeds and I am convinced you are the one the Kandiss meant."

DAW Books 1984

Synopsis

Defeated and demoralised by treachery within the bandit tribes that he led, Imaro searches for vengeance, and his kidnapped lover Tanisha. In the City of Madness, he discovers both, along with a new ally, Pomphis, who seemingly possesses information about the dark forces which have hounded Imaro all his life.

Pomphis doesn't have all the answers, but he suggests they might be found in the legendary city of Cush. As they embark on their quest for Cush, the forces arrayed against Imaro grow bolder, manifesting themselves as assassins, monsters, and deadly creatures from the sea; all in a desperate attempt to prevent Imaro from reaching his destination. As the forces grow deadlier, the true nature of the coming continent-wide conflict becomes increasingly more apparent.

List of characters

The characters in this section are listed in their order of appearance.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elric of Melniboné</span> Fictional character

Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Later stories by Moorcock marked Elric as a facet of the Eternal Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sword and sorcery</span> Genre of fantasy fiction

Sword and sorcery (S&S) or heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. Sword and sorcery commonly overlaps with heroic fantasy. The genre originated from the early-1930s works of Robert E. Howard. The term "sword and sorcery" was coined by Fritz Leiber in the May 1961 issue of the fantasy fanzine Amra, to describe Howard and the stories that were influenced by his works. In parallel with "sword and sorcery", the term "heroic fantasy" is used, although it is a more loosely defined genre.

<i>Anno Dracula</i> series Alternate history fantasy book series by Kim Newman

The Anno Dracula series by Kim Newman—named after Anno Dracula, the series' first novel—is a work of fantasy depicting an alternate history in which the heroes of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula fail to stop Count Dracula's conquest of Britain, resulting in a world where vampires are common and increasingly dominant in society. While Dracula is a central figure in the events of the series, he is a minor character in the books and usually appears in only a few climactic pages of each book. While many of the characters from Newman's Diogenes Club stories appear in the Anno Dracula novels, they are not the same as the ones in those stories, nor is the Diogenes Club itself the same.

<i>The Dark Is Rising Sequence</i> Series of fantasy novels for children by Susan Cooper

The Dark Is Rising Sequence is a series of five contemporary fantasy novels for older children and young adults that were written by the British author Susan Cooper and published from 1965 to 1977. The first book in the series, Over Sea, Under Stone, was originally conceived as a stand-alone novel, and the sequence gets its name from the second novel in the series, The Dark Is Rising. The Dark Is Rising Sequence is used as an over-arching title in several omnibus, boxed-set, and coordinated editions; but the title of The Dark is Rising is also used for the whole series.

<i>The Dark Is Rising</i> 1973 childrens fantasy novel by Susan Cooper

The Dark Is Rising is a 1973 children's fantasy novel by Susan Cooper. The second in The Dark Is Rising Sequence, the book won a Newbery Honor. It has been described as a "folkloric tale of an English boy caught in a battle between light and dark".

<i>Something Wicked This Way Comes</i> (novel) 1962 dark fantasy novel by Ray Bradbury

Something Wicked This Way Comes is a 1962 dark fantasy novel by Ray Bradbury, and the second book in his Green Town Trilogy. It is about two 13-year-old best friends, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, and their nightmarish experience with a traveling carnival that comes to their Midwestern home, Green Town, Illinois, on October 24. In dealing with the creepy figures of this carnival, the boys learn how to combat fear. The carnival's leader is the mysterious "Mr. Dark", who seemingly wields the power to grant the townspeople's secret desires. In reality, Dark is a malevolent being who, like the carnival, lives off the life force of those it enslaves. Mr. Dark's presence is countered by that of Will's father, Charles Halloway, the janitor of the town library, who harbors his own secret fear of growing older because he feels he is too old to be Will's dad.

Sean Thomas Russell is a Canadian writer of fantasy, and of historical novels featuring the Royal Navy. His work has been published under the names Sean Russell and S. Thomas Russell as well as his full name, and he has collaborated with Ian Dennis under the joint pseudonym T.F. Banks.

<i>Imaro</i> 1981 novel by Charles R. Saunders

Imaro is a sword and sorcery novel written by Charles R. Saunders, and published by DAW Books in 1981. It may have been one of the first forays into the sword and sorcery genre by a black author. Saunders wrote and had published two more books in the series, The Quest for Cush in 1984 and The Trail of Bohu in 1985. In 2009, Saunders released The Naama War, the fourth and last Imaro novel, through Lulu.

Charles Robert Saunders was an African-American author and journalist, a pioneer of the "sword and soul" literary genre with his Imaro novels. During his long career, he wrote novels, non-fiction, screenplays and radio plays.

<i>The Trail of Bohu</i> 1985 novel by Charles R. Saunders

The Trail of Bohu also known as Imaro III: The Trail of Bohu is a sword and sorcery novel written by Charles R. Saunders, and published by Daw Books in 1985. The Trail of Bohu was the third book of Imaro's series.

<i>Spooks</i> Childrens dark fantasy series by Joseph Delaney

Spook's, published as The Last Apprentice in the United States, is a children's dark fantasy series by English author Joseph Delaney. It is published by imprints of Penguin Random House in the United Kingdom, and HarperCollins in the United States. The series has been published in 30 countries, with sales exceeding 4.5 million copies. It originated in 2004 with The Spook's Apprentice, which has been adapted into a play script, a feature film titled Seventh Son, and a French graphic novel.

<i>We Can Build You</i> 1972 novel by Philip K. Dick

We Can Build You is a 1972 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. Written in 1962 as The First in Our Family, it remained unpublished until appearing in serial form as A. Lincoln, Simulacrum in the November 1969 and January 1970 issues of Amazing Stories magazine, re-titled by editor Ted White. The novel was issued as a mass market paperback original by DAW Books in 1972, its final title provided by publisher Donald A. Wollheim. Its first hardcover edition was published in Italy in 1976, and Vintage issued a trade paperback in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Boardman Hawes</span> American maritime writer (1989-1923)

Charles Boardman Hawes was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction sea stories, best known for three historical novels. He died suddenly at age 34, after only two of his five books had been published. He was the first U.S.-born winner of the annual Newbery Medal, recognizing his third novel The Dark Frigate (1923) as the year's best American children's book. Reviewing the Hawes Memorial Prize Contest in 1925, The New York Times observed that "his adventure stories of the sea caused him to be compared with Stevenson, Dana and Melville".

<i>Percy Jackson & the Olympians</i> Childrens fantasy adventure series

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a series of fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan. The first book series in his Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, the novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st century. The series follows the protagonist Percy Jackson, a young demigod, who must prevent the Titans, led by Kronos, from destroying the world.

<i>Shadowplay</i> (novel) Fantasy novel by American writer Tad Williams

Shadowplay is a fantasy novel by American writer Tad Williams, the second book in the Shadowmarch tetralogy. It was released in hardcover in the US in March, 2007 and has been released with a region-specific hard cover in the United Kingdom. Book one, Shadowmarch, was published in November 2004. Book three of Shadowmarch, Shadowrise was released in March, 2010. A fourth book, Shadowheart, completes the series.

<i>The Years Best Fantasy Stories: 3</i> 1977 anthology edited by Lin Carter

The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 3 is a 1977 anthology of fantasy stories, edited by American writer Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books.

<i>The Naama War</i> 2009 novel by Charles R. Saunders

The Naama War is a fantasy novel written by Charles R. Saunders, and published independently in 2009 by Sword & Soul Media via the online press Lulu.

List of complete works by American fantasy fiction author Glen Cook.

<i>Kesrick</i> 1982 novel by Lin Carter

Kesrick: An Adult Fantasy is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the first in his series about the fictional "Flat Earth" of Terra Magica. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in November 1982. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in February 2001, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in March 2020. It has also been translated into Italian.

<i>Dragonrouge</i> 1984 novel by Lin Carter

Dragonrouge: Further Adventures in Terra Magica is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the second in his series about the fictional "Flat Earth" of Terra Magica. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in December 1984. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in 2001, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in February 2020.

References

"Adding To The Gumbo Mix: Charles R. Saunders - 2005 Interview". Archived from the original on 2011-06-07.