The Dark Hand of Magic
core novel 1990 Sun Wolf and Starhawk
Record
| First published | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.84 (1,609 ratings, collected 2026-10-08) |
| Page count | 423 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780345358073 |
| Internal chronology | 3 |
Synopsis
Sun Wolf knows he has the power of magic, but he needs a master wizard to teach him to use it fully, and there is no one who can do the job. Then his old mercenary company comes to him for help: the troop he once led has been cursed by a wizard, their luck turned to a run of disasters and deaths that has driven them to the edge of ruin. Honouring the obligation, he and Starhawk rejoin the company on campaign, which binds the curse to him as well, and in the siege and the winter march that follow Sun Wolf must harness powers he barely understands, find the source of the dark hand laid on his friends, and face a wizard far older and more practised than himself. The conclusion of the trilogy, and the book in which the partnership of the two mercenaries finally becomes something more.
Where it sits
- Universe: Sun Wolf and Starhawk
- Series: Sun Wolf and Starhawk core; position 3 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Barbara Hambly
Notes
- From the series record (Sun Wolf and Starhawk): Barbara Hambly's sword-and-sorcery trilogy of Sun Wolf, a mercenary captain who discovers he has the power of magic and no one to teach him, and Starhawk, his second-in-command: a war against a wizard-king, a search for a teacher, and a curse on his old company. Four self-published sequel novellas (2015) continue the pair's story.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Sun Wolf and Starhawk: position 3 of 3: previous The Witches of Wenshar (1987)
Sources
← Sun Wolf and Starhawk dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.