It was bad enough when Henghis Hapthorn, Old Earth's foremost discriminator and die-hard empiricist, had to accept that the cosmos was shortly to rewrite its basic operating system, replacing rational cause-and-effect with detestable magic. Now he finds himself cast forward several centuries, stranded in a primitive world of contending wizards and hungry dragons, and without his magic-savvy alter ego. Worse, some entity with a will powerful enough to bend space and time is searching for him through the Nine Planes, bellowing "Bring me Apthorn!" in a voice loud enough to frighten demons.

Praise for Matthew Hughes:

"Matthew Hughes does Jack Vance better than anyone except Jack himself" - George R.R. Martin

"Heir apparent to Jack Vance" - Booklist

"Hughes's boldness is admirable"- New York Review of Science Fiction

"Hughes effortlessly renders fantastic worlds and beings believable"- Publishers Weekly

"A towering talent"- Robert J. Sawyer

"A treasure" - David Gerrold