R.A. Salvatore's prelude to the Demon Wars Sagas The Highwayman is a stimulating ride into the early history of Corona and the vehicle is the creation a new, Drizzt-rivaling hero. Salvatore spins the tragic tale of an Abellican missionary who returns to Honce from the desert land Behr with wonders from the ancient Jhesta Tu monastery. At his side is his wife, a Jhesta Tu mystic. His dreams of uniting the teachings of the Jhesta Tu and "The Church of Blessed Abelle" are broken against the realities of bigotry and the young Abellican Church's struggle for political favor against the Druid-like Samhaists. But from their doomed union will rise a people's hero--the Highwayman.

This novel is, at its heart, an origin tale and Salvatore takes time to spin his hero's legend. Although the stirring set piece at the novel's launch will let readers know where he's going, discovering how he gets there is a thrill and a pleasure, making this one of Salvatore's most mature and deliberate novels. In the backdrop, fans of the Demon War Sagas will watch the emerging Abellican Church as it grows from virtual cult to the calcified institution of the later books. In all, this is a stimulating addition to the Corona universe. --Jeremy Pugh

From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Salvatore (The Lone Drow, etc.) returns to the world of Corona with this serviceable, swift-moving tale of sword and sorcery filled with workmanlike scenes of persecution, last-minute rescues and obligatory romances. Long before the Demon Wars, in "God's year 54," Bransen Garibond, an orphaned cripple living with the very monks who were instrumental in the deaths of his clerical father and foreign-born mother, discovers secrets of his past through a mystical book and the healing stones of "the Church of the Blessed Abelle." Soon he becomes a warrior and travels the roads of Corona with a mystical sword seeking retribution. Despite the predictable, episodic plot and a conventional "feel-good" ending, the author does a good job of depicting Corona geography and the amoral ruling class that lords it over a grim society where children may be kidnapped for their genitals and where death is the result of honesty. Fans of Salvatore's unadorned approach and broad caricatures of archetypal figures should be pleased with this carnival of treachery and medieval feudalism. A new Drizzt Do'Urden story, "The Dowry," is an added bonus. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Since long before the Demon Wars, Corona has been riven by dynastic quarrels and the rivalry of the Samhaists, practicers of human sacrifice, and the newly emerging Abellicans. Into that tangle wander two lovers from Behr, adepts of the Jhesta Tu system, who are promptly branded as heretics when they save a condemned woman. This costs the pregnant adept her life and puts her newborn son in danger of his life. The boy, born crippled and raised by a foster father, slowly comes into his inheritance of adept powers and his mother's fabulous sword. As injustice surrounds him, he is progressively better able to take to the highways to make his own modest contribution to saving the oppressed from hunger and murder. Salvatore's realization of the characters in this series-launching book is rather better than usual for him, and the churches in which the hero grows up (he would rather live elsewhere) have a lived-in quality. Moreover, ninja and samurai fans will get a chuckle recognizing the source of some plot elements. Vast fun. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

B&N Explorations Newsletter, March 2004
The Highwayman is archetypal Salvatore: masterful...action-packed...riveting...surprises around every turn....buy it, read it, love it.

Philadelphia Weekly Press & University City Review, March 2004
The ultimate dashing warrior fighting to save the people from the harsh taxes and romance his girl friend...Fun pulp.

Booklist, March 15, 2004
Ninja and samurai fans will get a chuckle recognizing the source of some plot elements. Vast fun.

Book Description
Long ago, in a distant land, a lonely young man struggles to discover who he is and where he belongs.He carries the blood and magic of two peoples, a sword of unimaginable power, and the staggering potential for great good...or greater evil. R.A. Salvatore takes his readers back to his signature world of Corona, where he introduces a fascinating new hero destined to become a fantasy legend.It is God's Year 54, many years before the DemonWars in the land of Corona. The roads are unsafe to travel, where goblins and bloodthirsty Powries search out human prey. In this savage world, Princes feast while peasants starve, and two religions struggle fiercely for control.Bran Dynard, a monk of the fledgling religion of Abelle, returns from his mission in a far off land with two prizes: A book of mystical knowledge, and a new wife, the beautiful and mysterious Sen Wi.But the world he left behind has changed, and his dream of spreading the powerful wisdom he learned to his fellow monks is soon crushed. Forced to hide Sen Wi and his precious book, Bran must decide whom he can trust, and where he should now place his faith.Twenty years later,the situation has grown darker and more desperate. The land is devastated by war, and even the rich and powerful live in fear. Only the masked Highwayman travels freely, his sword casting aside Powries and soldiers with equal ease. The people long for a savior, but is the Highwayman on a mission of mercy...or vengence?

From the Publisher
For more than 15 years, fans and critics alike have praised R.A. Salvatore for his stirring battle scenes, inventive story lines, and extraordinary characters. He is best known as the creator of the dark elf, Drizzt, one of the fantasy genre's most beloved characters, as well as the author of 13 NEW YORK TIMES bestsellers, including THE HALFLING'S GEM, SOJOURN and the immensely popular novelization of the latest "Star Wars" film, STAR WARS EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES. As a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling fantasy novelist, R.A. Salvatore has proven himself time and again to be a visionary presence in the science fiction and fantasy genre. R.A. Salvatore continues to forge new paths with the first book in his next series, THE HIGHWAYMAN Book One of the Chronicles of Corona. Equal parts 'Robin Hood' and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' R.A. Salvatore creates an unforgettable character at odds against himself and the world he lives in with THE HIGHWAYMAN.

From the Inside Flap
Long ago, in a distant land, a lonely young man struggles to discover who he is and where he belongs.He carries the blood and magic of two peoples, a sword of unimaginable power, and the staggering potential for great good...or greater evil. R.A. Salvatore takes his readers back to his signature world of Corona, where he introduces a fascinating new hero destined to become a fantasy legend.It is God's Year 54, many years before the DemonWars in the land of Corona. The roads are unsafe to travel, where goblins and bloodthirsty Powries search out human prey. In this savage world, Princes feast while peasants starve, and two religions struggle fiercely for control.Bran Dynard, a monk of the fledgling religion of Abelle, returns from his mission in a far off land with two prizes: A book of mystical knowledge, and a new wife, the beautiful and mysterious Sen Wi.But the world he left behind has changed, and his dream of spreading the powerful wisdom he learned to his fellow monks is soon crushed. Forced to hide Sen Wi and his precious book, Bran must decide whom he can trust, and where he should now place his faith.Twenty years later,the situation has grown darker and more desperate. The land is devastated by war, and even the rich and powerful live in fear. Only the masked Highwayman travels freely, his sword casting aside Powries and soldiers with equal ease. The people long for a savior, but is the Highwayman on a mission of mercy...or vengence?

About the Author
R.A. Salvatore was born in Massachusetts in 1959. His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computer science to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications in 1981, then returnedfor the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become ECHOES OF THE FOURTH MAGIC.His first published novel was THE CRYSTAL SHARD in 1988. His novel THE SILENT BLADE won the Origins Award, and in the fall of 1997, his letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers were donated to the R.A. Salvatore Library at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
R. A. Salvatore, renowned for his classic Forgotten Realms novels as well as his bestselling DemonWars saga, returns to his signature world of Corona with a brilliant new fantasy series that incorporates a hero to rival Drizzt Do'Urden, the scimitar-wielding dark elf featured in dozens of Salvatore's Forgotten Realms tales.

The Highwayman takes place centuries before the Demon Wars ravaged the realm. The land of Corona is still wild frontier: roaming bands of bloodthirsty red cap dwarves plague the roadways, egotistical princes fight amongst each other for political supremacy, and two very different religions -- the brutal polytheistic Samhaism and the magical, gem-empowered Church of the Blessed Abelle -- struggle for dominance amongst the masses.

When Bran Dynard, a brother of the Blessed Abelle, returns home after ten years discipleship in a faraway desert realm, he is a changed man. Not only has he married a beautiful, dark-skinned native of Behr, he has been enlightened by Behr's faith, the Jhesta Tu -- a Taoist-like religion of introspection that involves centering one's life energy. But when Bran and his pregnant wife reach the Chapel of Pryd and meet with its leaders, he isn't seen as an enlightened champion returning home but as a heretic. His dark-skinned wife is considered a beast and their marriage an abomination.

Bran and his wife are demonized, and both eventually lose their lives; but their child -- a fragile, handicapped boy named Bransen -- is somehow saved. When Bransen matures, he is uncoordinated, stutters, and is unmercifully mocked by the townspeople. But when he gets his hands on the magical gems of the Abelle church, something amazing happens.

The Highwayman is archetypal Salvatore: crackling with masterful characterization, action-packed plotlines, riveting battle sequences, and surprises around every turn. Look out, Drizzt, here comes the Highwayman! Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

R.A. Salvatore takes his readers back to his signature world of Corona, where he introduces a fascinating new hero destined to become a fantasy legend.

It is God's Year 54, many years before the Demon Wars in the land of Corona. The roads are unsafe to travel, where goblins and bloodthirsty Powries search out human prey. In this savage world, Princess feast while peasants starve, and two religions struggle fiercely for control.

Bran Dynard, a monk of the fledgling religion of Abelle, returns from his mission in a far off land with two prizes: A book of mystical knowledge, and a new wife, the beautiful and mysterious Sen Wi.

But the world he left behind has changed, and his dream of spreading the powerful wisdom he learned to his fellow monks is son crushed. Forced to hide Sen Wi and his precious book, Bran must decide whom he can trust, and where he should now place his faith.

Twenty years later, the situation has grown darker and more desperate. The land is devastated by war, and even the rich and powerful live in fear. Only the masked Highwayman travels freely, his sword casting aside Powries and soldiers with equal ease. The people long for a savior, but is the Highwayman on a mission of mercy￯﾿ﾽor vengeance?

Author Info:

R.A. Salvatore was born in Massachusetts in 1959. His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computer science to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic.

His first published novel was The Crystal Shard in 1988. His novel The Silent Blade won the Origins Award, and in the fall of 1997, his letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers were donated to the R.A. Salvatore Library at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly