The Storm Lord by Tanith Lee

Daw Science Fiction

Paper; May 18, 1976

• ISBN-10: 0886772737
• ISBN-13: 978-0886772734

A number of people in this book earn the designation "Storm Lord,"raising the knotty issue of exactly who Lee is referring to in the title.

Ashne'e, the lowland priestess (or Amber Witch) must

submit to the passions of the aging Storm Lord. This union is blessed with issue: Raldnor, the central character in the book. He's a fairly conventional man of action not unlike Conan The Barbarian. It's unusual for Lee to base a book around such a run-of-the-mill character, but the story itself is fine, with plenty of Lee's imaginative touches and her usual polished writing.

The passage that stayed with me occurs while Raldnor is still a wandering adventurer (or freebooter). He has an encounter with a prostitute, who excitedly exclaims: "You're indefatigable, a Storm Lord--" A hooker who flatters her client by calling him a Storm Lord? Raldnor proves her right by actually becoming the Storm Lord in due course.