The Hand of Chaos

With the publication of their first fantasy novel, New York Times bestselling authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman were an instant success. Seven years later, there are nearly ten million copies of their novels in print around the world. Their most ambitious project to date, the Death Gate novels showcase the lively imagination of this innovative duo. The first four volumes in the seven-book cycle each introduced a distinct and fully developed world with its individual story, each written in a different voice. In the final three volumes, an age-old battle to control all of the realms rages anew as Sartan and Patryn - powerful races who once believed they were gods - rediscover their old hatred of one another...and that they have an even more terrifying enemy in common. Haplo the Patryn has been ordered by the Lord of the Nexus to explore the elemental realms - Arianus, Realm of Sky; Pryan, Realm of Fire; Abarrach, Realm of Stone: Chelestra, Realm of Sea - and to instigate chaos where he can. Though Haplo discovered his archnemesis Alfred the Sartan early on, the two were drawn to one another and came to travel together more often as time passed. Side by side, they found small bits of forgotten information that help them understand the long-ago Sundering of their universe into four realms. But now Alfred has been imprisoned in the deadly Labyrinth, the very same Labyrinth from which Haplo once escaped. Haplo himself and the human child Bane have been sent once again to Arianus to further their master's work. Chaos seems everywhere, a perfect setup for the Lord of the Nexus. Still, Haplo is troubled. Amidst the maelstrom of Arianus, all is not as it should be. Bane is too eager toprove his loyalty to his lord...perhaps at Haplo's expense. Somehow, the assassin Hugh the Hand has been resurrected - and he has a job to complete. But, most important, the evil force Haplo and Alfred discovered on Arianus has escaped. Haplo must decide whether to obey the Lord of t