This week I bought one book that is out of print. I happened to find some used copies available for $2 – $3 on Amazon that qualified for Prime so I snatched one up.

The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly

This book came out in the 1984 and is the first book in the Sun Wolf and Starhawk trilogy. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book and have had it on my “out of print book” wish list for a while. Unfortunately, I had always thought it was very expensive since searching for it on Amazon shows it is unavailable other than one used copy for $999.98. While I do want to read it, I don’t want to read it quite that badly… This time I found there are other editions available that are MUCH cheaper if you actually click on the book, though. Since there were some for $2 or $3 that qualified for free shipping, I figured why not get one now.

When Sun Wolf, a mercenary captain, turned down an elegant lady from the town of Mandrigyn and her preposterous request that he fight for her an unwinable battle, he had no idea what trouble he was getting into. Sheera had no intention of taking no for an answer, and as an unwilling prisoner, Sun Wolf begins to train the women of Mandrigyn as a fighting force. His lieutenant, Starhawk, follows his trail to the city where all the men have been imprisoned by the last wizard to walk to the earth. Sun Wolf is foced to admit, before long, that he has violated ever rule about wizardry and love that his father handed down to him, and once reunited, both Sun Wolf and Starhawk (in a theme which soon becomes familiar during their subsequent travels), are forced to leave Mandrigyn at the end of the story – and the newly-freed men to the surprises that their battle-trained wives and daughters have become.
Locus award nominee, 1985
Published by Del Rey books in 1984.