The first novel in the acclaimed Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, named after the three legendary swords. This is the story of Simon, a young man working in the kitchen of the royal castle, and a magician's apprentice. Fantasies and dreams of great victories and heroic deeds become a shocking reality when his world is torn apart by the fires of civil war - a war fueled by ancient hatreds, immortal enemies and dark sorcery. Volume 1 of the two-volume edition of the novel.