<b>From the back cover of the Tor UK fourth printing:</b> "The Banished Lands have a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed in battle. An uneasy peace reigns, but now giants stir once more, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of gigantic wyrms.. Those who can still read the signs see a prophecy realized: sorrow will darken the world, as angels and demons make it their battlefield.
<p>Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors and years to join them, determined that he will make his family proud. It is only when everything he knows is threatened that he discovers the true cost of becoming a man.
<p>As the Kings look to their borders and priests beg answers from the Gods, only a chosen few know that the fate of the world will be decided between two champions, the Black Swan and the Bright Star. And with their coming will be a war to end all wars."
