The Sum of All Men
core novel 1998 The Runelords
Record
| First published | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.78 (19,932 ratings, collected 2026-09-02) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780312866532 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The Sum of All Men is set in a world where people can transfer physical and mental attributes such as strength, stamina, or beauty to others through a magical practice called granting endowments, creating warriors and rulers whose abilities exceed ordinary human limits. Prince Gaborn Val Orden travels to the kingdom of Heredon to court Princess Iome, only to arrive as her homeland comes under attack from Raj Ahten, a warlord who has taken so many endowments that he has become nearly unstoppable in battle. As Raj Ahten's forces threaten to overrun Heredon, Gaborn is forced to navigate the immediate dangers of war alongside the personal costs endowments exact on those who give and receive them. Amid the fighting, Gaborn begins to sense stirrings of an inherited destiny tied to protecting mankind, setting the stage for the series' larger conflict.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Runelords
- Series: The Runelords (main sequence) core; position 1 of 8 in the series' recorded order
- Author: David Farland
Notes
- From the series record (The Runelords (main sequence)): The eight-book main numbered sequence (1998-2009), confirmed against publisher/retailer first-edition records; closes the saga's original story arc.
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 The Runelords (main sequence): position 1 of 8: next Brotherhood of the Wolf (1999)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Runelords
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Wolverton_bibliography
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Wolverton
- https://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/David-Farland/The-Sum-Of-All-Men.html
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