The Unmade Man

by Daniel Tyler Gooden

For Boruin, the past is simply dark. There is a ribbon of runes that turns across his body. He cannot read them, but they hold strange magics, too dangerous to use unknown. There is nothing in his mind before waking on the Nefazo Trade Highway thirty years past.The woman standing above him on the deserted road offers her own mysteries. Wraethe is moon-driven, awake under Diun’s shine and dead to the world during the day. Her temper and lust for blood often places her near the edge of chaos and mindless rage. Though a killer by trade, there is still heat in Wraethe's heart, no matter how deeply hidden.A Mana’Olai assassin and short grave robber complete the small band that works across the jungle borders of Nefazo. Sometime thieves, bodyguards, strong-arms, diplomats, the crew honors what contracts pay. Boruin’s band has done well–until they meet the child.The acquisition of the boy has turned Boruin back to his long unanswered questions. The quiet boy’s eyes are sharp, seeing the shifting tattoos where others see nothing. His touch turns them down Boruin’s arms and brings the spells to life. Where is this boy from? Who contracted Boruin to bring him out of the deep jungle? Why does he seem to know so much about that which is hidden?All other obligations are disregarded as Boruin turns back to his past. Contracts are broken, friendships are pulled apart, and lives are lost to discover the man that was once unmade.The Unmade Man is a tale of Baeg Tobar.

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 20, 2009

Reviews

[Daniel Gooden · Rating 5 out of 5]

By sliding the tattooed ribbon of runes across his skin, Boruin may chance upon powerful spells, but not knowing his own magic makes death the surer bet. When a mute boy reaches up and moves the runes, casting a spell as if born to the strange magic, Boruin finds the first lead to his blank past in thirty years.

Discovering the truth of Boruin’s forgotten youth will not be easy. His wraith guardian swings between moon-driven moods of lust and rage. The Fae courts are cracking mountains, stirring up ghosts, and waking flying serpents to find him. Each spinning of the tattoos is a dead man’s gamble. The runes will unravel him, but before they do, Boruin is determined to find who wrote this magic across his skin.