SOLVED. Fantasy book with a mostly Gold/Yellow cover with a flying sphinx over an ancient looking city [s]

[DV]

I posted maybe three years ago about this but maybe someone new will see it and know. I checked this book out from the library in the mid-2000s and it was big (over 1000 pages surely). As I said, the cover was gold/yellow toned and showed a flying sphinx over a city.

I remember that the main character was a man who was described as looking exceedingly Norwegian - long, white-blonde hair, ice blue eyes, heavily muscled.

I don't remember much about the plot except that there was also a wizard (or mage? or witch?) that lived in the swamps outside the city.

[Sue]

This sounds like Shadow of the Lion by Eric Flint, Dave Freer and Mercedes Lackey. The Viking type you describe is one of the main characters.

[DV]

That’s it!!! I was wrong about the cover color, but that’s it!!! Thank you so much, I’ve been thinking about this book off and on for almost 10 years 😭😍

[Sue]

No I think you were right about the cover, there is another edition where the cover is as you describe. That’s the one I have.