Torments of the Traitor
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Ian Irvine |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Les Peterson (Australian edition) Lee Gibbons (UK edition) |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Song of the Tears |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Published | 2006 Orbit Books, Penguin Books |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 602 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | 0-670-04188-2 (paperback edition) |
| OCLC | 156757561 |
| Preceded by | The Well of Echoes quartet |
| Followed by | The Curse on the Chosen |
Torments of the Traitor / The Fate of the Fallen is the first novel in Ian Irvine's The Song of the Tears trilogy. Torments of the Traitor was released as The Fate of the Fallen in the UK.
Official Synopsis
After ten years of servitude, Nish is about to be released from the blackest prison of his corrupt father, the maimed God-Emperor, Jal-Nish Hlar. Using the sorcerous Profane Tears, Gatherer and Reaper, Jal-Nish has crushed all opposition and is remaking Santhenar in his depraved image.
The oppressed peoples of the world see Nish as a messianic figure, the Deliverer, who promised long ago to return and cast down his father. Unfortunately, Nish has no choice but to repudiate that solemn oath, for he's a broken man, powerless and alone. Even worse, his father is trying to seduce Nish into becoming his lieutenant and, faced with the unbearable alternative of another ten years in prison, Nish isn't sure he can resist the temptation.
The one person who can help him is little Maelys, a shy, bookish dreamer forced by duty to use Nish for an ignoble purpose. But Maelys is the last woman he wants, and she carries a secret that is more likely to destroy Nish than save him.
Setting
Torments of the Traitor starts off ten years after Chimaera. The trilogy centres around Nish and his quest to bring down his father, the God-Emperor Jal-Nish Hlar.
Plot introduction
Torments of the Traitor is also the story of a new character Maelys, whose once great family have hatched a plan for her to rescue Nish from the prison his father has set him in and to seduce him into marrying her. Maely's family hope to be raised up to their former glory if Nish rebels against his Father, and become God-Emperor, or if he joins his father and becomes his lieutenant. Either way Maely's family benefits.
Nish has been imprisoned for the last ten years. His time for release has finally come. However the condition is that he must swear loyalty to his evil father, the man who had his beloved Irisis beheaded. Through Nish swore in front of thousands when he was first imprisoned, that he would never join his Father Jal-Nish after ten years, his will to fight has left him, and is unsure whether he can resists Jal-Nish Hlar's temptations.
At the conclusion of the novel, the characters, who have grouped together, make the decision to seek down Irvine's mysterious boogeyman, the Numinator.