Amazon.com (ISBN 0345421442, Paperback)

Kollberg chewed on the finger, worrying it, cracking the bone like a dog sucking marrow; he turned his head to one side, wedged the finger back between his molars, bit down again, and yanked his head from side to side until the bone splintered at the knuckle and he could rip it free. Blood sprayed, and Kollberg fixed his lips to the wound, sucking greedily.

Imagine an earth overloaded with faceless billions scrambling for the scraps of the unimaginably wealthy few. The only way to climb out of the gutter comes through training for Reality TV to the nth degree: actors train in special academies, are implanted with broadcast equipment, and get transferred to Earth's sister world, called Overworld, where all the trappings of high fantasy exist for real.

There are tiny, winged fairies on Overworld. They carry yard-long lances of razor steel. The dwarves magically flow stone to entomb their enemies. Back on earth, viewers experience full-body simulations of the actors' heroic adventures.

But the billions hunger for more than entertainment. Overworld tempts them with its pure air, its unexploited resources, its living space, and its sweet, clean water. Their hunger begets a blind god. And Kollberg, the god of human appetites, sends his weapons to Overworld--bulldozers for the land and a plague of fatal, frothing madness for the people.

Enter Hari Michaelson, the actor formerly known as Caine. Since the events of Stover's Heroes Die, in which Caine squared off against the god Ma'elKoth, a new religion has sprung up--Cainism. The Children of Ma'elKoth persecute the Cainists, but that particular war is small potatoes next to the bouts of unstoppable death about to be unleashed as earth's high-tech weaponry takes on the fiery thaumaturges of Overworld.

Hari/Caine, his old friends, and his bevy of mortal enemies surge and clash and take unbelievable beatings, spiritual as well as physical. And the faceless billions learn nothing of trust, sacrifice, or redemption.

Blade of Tyshalle: gods, myths, human weakness, and the tool that is pain. You've been warned. --Blaise Selby