Luthien's gamble - R. A Salvatore

Superb follow up to The Sword of Bedwyr, first volume in the The Crimson Shadow series.

Luthien Bedwyr has come of age. Once an exiled fugitive in his own land, he now heads a rebillion against the dark Wizard-King, Greensparrow. He is also heir to the strange magic of the Crimson Shadow.

Together with Oliver deBurrows, Katerin O'Hale the beautiful rebel, Siobhan the fearless half-elf, and Shuglin the dwarf leader, Luthien has enjoyed a series of triumphs. But the war is far from won. Greensparrow holds the rebels in contempt, and sends his smallest divisions of monster warriors against them. The warriors number in the thousands. The rebels, mainly peasants, are far fewer. Their only hope is the harsh winter they've been hardened to, a winter that might strike down the pampered warriors.

But it's a slim hope, for the warriors of Greensparrow are creatures of the dark. And there is also a grim prophecy: if the King's forces are defeated, the victory will unleash a hellish demon, one with the might to challenge and defeat the Crimson Shadow.