For a thousand years, the Southlands were ravaged by the Blood Wars, vicious conflicts between the magical Qirsi of the western clanlands, and the Eandi of the eastern sovereignties. Generations upon generations grew up knowing nothing of peace or compromise or mercy. And though for many hundreds of years the two sides fought to a bloody stalemate, in the end it was the Qirsi who drove back the Eandi, taking control of the Central Plain.

The peace that came at last was fragile and bitter. The memory of war lingered in the land like the smell of smoke from distant fires. The Blood Wars had ended, but the hatred of a millenium could not be overcome in a year or a decade or even a century. So it was that Lici, an old Mettai woman driven near to madness by a wrong done her and her people when she was just a child, turned her vengeance and her magic against the Y'Qatt, a sect of Qirsi who refused to use magic. Lici cursed them with a plague both deadly and contagious. Before long that plague had spread to the Fal'Borna, a powerful Qirsi clan of the plain. Villages were destroyed; thousands died.

In Qalsyn, a glorious city in the Eandi sovereignty of Stelpana, the family of Tirnya Onjaef lives in exile. A century and a half before, as the Blood Wars neared their violent conclusion, the Onjaefs had been driven from their home city of Deraqor on the plain. Tirnya, a captain in the Qalsyn army, and her father, Marshal Jenoe Onjaef, hear of the pestilence sweeping across the land now held by the Fal'Borna, and they begin to dream of reclaiming their ancestral home.

At the same time, Besh, an old Mettai man, and his son-in-law Sirj, search for Lici's cursed baskets and the merchants who are carrying them, desperate to keep the plague from doing more harm. As they journey deeper into Fal'Borna land, they encounter an odd company -- Q'Daer, a young Fal'Borna Weaver, who is distrustful of outsiders and quick to anger; Torgan Plye, an Eandi merchant who harbors a deadly secret; Jasha Ziffel, another merchant who trusts neither Torgan nor the Fal'Borna; and Grinsa jal Arriet, a Weaver from the Forelands, who has come to the Southlands seeking only peace and a place to make a new life for himself and his family. It falls to Grinsa to keep the peace among his companions, to prevent hatreds rekindled by Lici's curse from spilling over into ever more violence.

As the Eandi of Stelpana begin to plan for war, and the Fal'Borna of the plain seek vengeance for the terrible pestilence spreading across their land, Grinsa and Besh seek a cure for the magical plague. Their sorcery is as different as the color of their eyes, as different as the worlds in which they were raised. But out of need and fear, and under the threat of calamity, they forge an unlikely friendship. They'll need each other; they'll need their wits and their courage. For the threat of this pestilence lies far closer than they could possibly imagine.

*****

Praise for The Horsemen's Gambit, book II of Blood of the Southlands

"In this intense and appealing sequel to 2007's The Sorcerer's Plague, clan rivalry continues apace...Coe steps up the tension and raises the stakes, leaving readers quivering in anticipation of book three." -- Publisher's Weekly

"Coe manages to take several serious, weighty issues, approach them from distinctly different points of view and make you sympathetic toward characters who sometimes act selfishly or viciously. He absolutely nails the plot and sequencing. This book is the best yet in the series. Four and a Half Stars" -- Romantic Times

Praise for The Sorcerers' Plague, book I of Blood of the Southlands

"Coe follows the Winds of the Forelands series with this absorbing trilogy opener set across the sea in the Southlands.... Fans will cheer on Forelands series hero Grinsa, a powerful but pacifist Qirsi, who ties the two series together....." -- Publishers' Weekly

"The Southlands are as highly detailed as the Forelands of Coe's five-volume Winds of the Forelands. The characters, especially the old searcher, are extremely well drawn. Those who enjoyed Coe before should like him again, and since one need not have read Winds to figure out anything in the first book of Blood of the Southlands, newcomers can jump right in." -- Booklist

"Book one of Coe's Blood of the Southlands series is set in a fascinating world. Characters explore issues of magic, prejudice and ignorance with extraordinary frankness. He manages to bring in characters beloved from his Winds of the Forelands series without forcing them to carry the plot. An entertaining read! Four Stars" -- Romantic Times

"...Coe weaves another saga of high drama and personal heroism that should please fans of epic fantasy. A good choice for most fantasy collections, particularly where the first series had a following." -- Library Journal

"Coe's new series is his best yet: appealing characters, twisty plot, and absorbing world....The thing that struck me while reading this book was that Coe does not settle for the comfortable fantasy archetypes that have really become stereotypes. His main character, Besh, is not young or handsome, he's old and ordinary, but he's smart, subtle, he's wise because he's experienced at life. The antagonist in this story is no Dark Lord, but someone with good reason to be twisted, who is the hero of her own story. This juxtaposition makes for the best kind of intrigue and twistiness. Add in magic, interesting cultures, and you've got a promising series. Coe just keeps getting better. " --Sherwood Smith

"The Sorcerer's Plague satisfies with sharply-drawn characters and an intense, intelligent plot. I eagerly await the next book of the Southlands." --Kate Elliott, author of Spirit Gate