The Baron of Magister Valley -- Steven Brust

<p><b>From the vaults of Dragaeran history and the mind of master fantasist Steven Brust--a tale of betrayal and vengeance that is not at all a retelling of </b><i><b>The Count of Monte Cristo</b><br></i><br>Reader, you will undoubtedly have had the misfortune of consuming the rotten fruit of fallacies that we--Paarfi of Roundwood (esteemed historian of House of Hawk and exquisite artisan of truths)--"borrow" our factual recount of Dragaeran history from some obscure fellow who goes by the name Al Dumas or some silly nomenclature of that nature. <p/>The salacious claims that <i>The Baron of Magister Valley </i>bears any resemblance to a certain nearly fictional narrative about an infamous count are unfounded (<i>we </i>do not dabble in tall tales. The occasional moderately stretched? Yes. But never tall). <p/><i>Our </i>tale is that of a nobleman who is betrayed by those he trusted, and subsequently imprisoned. After centuries of confinement, he contrives to escape and prepares to avenge himself against his betrayers. <p/>A mirror image of <i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i>, vitrolic naysayers still grouse? Well, that is nearly and utterly false. <p/><b>Also by Paarfi of Roundwood: </b><br>The Khaavren Romances<br>1. <i>The Phoenix Guards</i><br>2. <i>Five Hundred Years After</i><br>3. <i>The Paths of the Dead (The </i><i>Viscount of Adrilankha I)</i><br>4. <i>The Lorde of Castle Black </i><i>(The </i><i>Viscount of Adrilankha II)</i><br>5. <i>Sethra Lavode </i><i>(The </i><i>