Kingdom of Fire — Nick S. Thomas

Kingdom of Fire is the first book in the epic new high fantasy series which chronicles the final war between the crumbling human empire of Werstria and the savage and unrelenting horde of the orcs at their border.

In the first book of the Sword of Fire Saga, the epic struggle for survival is told through the eyes of a newly enlisted soldier named Markus, who experiences the crushing defeat of the western empire as the horde of Karsian orcs led by the dreaded Prince Ozturk, smash through the Werstrian defences. Only the bitter onset of winter slows their invasion. Markus, the only survivor of his regiment, battles desperately to stay alive. Driven deep into the infamous Salbein Mountains, he befriends the most unlikely of allies. With only a few months until the counter-offensive of the spring, he must seek the help of a mysterious wizard and lord who has lived in solitude for hundreds of years.

With the aid of the most unlikely of friends, Markus must venture into hostile lands to save the empire from destruction, faced with the terrifying knowledge that the orcs of Karsia have unearthed and harnessed the power of the Dragons of bygone ages. Markus fights the class struggle of his people, the bitter hatred of the orcs and the dreadful wrath of Dragons in his personal quest for revenge.

Kingdom of Fire is a classic work of high fantasy set in the midst of a brutal war of epic proportions.