'The Metal Mask of the Sorcerer' by Chrissy Johnson is a thrilling tale set in a world where technology and magic are in constant conflict. The story follows Adam, a young blacksmith who discovers an ancient metal mask with strange magical properties. When the mask's power attracts the attention of a malevolent sorcerer, Adam is thrust into a dangerous quest to prevent the sorcerer's return to power. Alongside a group of unlikely allies, Adam must navigate treacherous landscapes, decipher ancient runes, and battle dark forces to protect his village and prevent a devastating catastrophe. This exciting narrative explores themes of bravery, determination, and the enduring struggle between good and evil in a world where technology and magic intersect.

"If ever your heart has said, 'The great days are no more. The golden afternoon of golden tales has faded into night, and I came late, born out of time, to warm my hands at the embers that flicker and fade hour by hour' -- read this. . . Here are ghosts grim and gentle, red gold of Ophir, and fell weavings. Here is a tale to keep Scheherazade talking a hundred years." -- Gene Wolfe "Darrell Schweitzer is a fine writer . . . Not only is he skilled in the exotic use of the best trappings of Fantasy, he employs a disquieting awareness of the dark nooks of the mind and soul. . . .Best of all, Schweitzer is a story-teller, by whose smoky fire one may sit spell-bound." -- Tanith Lee "Superlative." --Interzone Darrell Schweitzer has been three-times nominated for the World Fantasy Award, twice for Best Collection, and once for the novella "To Become a Sorcerer," which forms the first four chapters of this book. He is also the author of "The White Isle," "The Shattered Goddess," and nearly 300 short stories, many of which are collected in such volumes as "The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack." An expert on fantastic fiction, who has written books about Lord Dunsany and H.P. Lovecraft, he also co-edited the legendary "Weird Tales" magazine.

Tahir Shah has a genius for surreal travelling, finding or creating situations and people. Doris...