The Crusading Wizard (Wizard in Rhyme, A)

THE WIZARD AT WAR

From beyond the mountains, a monstrous scourge sweeps down the steppes--a bloodthirsty barbarian horde, seemingly endless in numbers and hell-bent on conquest. With each nation that falls before their murderous onslaught, the marauders draw closer to Merovence, where good Queen Alisande rules with the help of her husband, Royal Wizard Matt Mantrell.

Now Matt and Alisande receive an urgent call for help from Jerusalem-- destined to be the barbarians' next target. But when Matt arrives in the Holy City to assess the imminent threat, he makes a shocking discovery: The power-mad khan who rules the ravaging minions is in league with a far greater and more dreadful enemy! With the aid of his old ally the djinn princess, a giant talking bird, and a fledgling enchantress with the power to change into a cat, Matt must call upon every resource, magical and mortal, to defy the triumph of pure evil . . .

Christopher Stasheff spent his early childhood in Mount Vernon, New York, but lived the rest of his formative years in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has always had difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality and tried to compromise by teaching college. When teaching proved too real, he gave it up in favor of writing full-time. He tends to pre-script his life but doesn't understand why other people can't get their lines right.