His enemies call Prince Richius 'the jackal,' yet he is only a reluctant warrior for the Emperor in the fight for the borderland of Lucel-Lor. The empire's deadly war machines are no match for the potent magic of Tharn, leader of a fanatical sect. Richius's forces are routed and he returns home in defeat - but the Emperor will not accept the loss. Soon Richius is given one last chance to pit the empire's science against the enemy's devastating magic. But he has fallen in love with a woman of Lucel-Lor, his sworn enemy. Now Richius finds himself torn between his kingdom, his loyalty, and his heart. No matter what he chooses, the result at best will be bloodshed and shame, at worst the deaths of everyone he holds dear. Yet as the Emperor and Tharn are about to discover, there is nothing so dangerous as one desperate man...

The second novel in the high fantasy Tyrants and Kings cycle takes up where The Jackal of Nar left off. Prince Richius Vantran finds exile more pleasant with a wife and daughter, but still seeks to overthrow Count Biagio and Archbishop Herrith, who are battling each other for control of the land of Nar. From his base on the island of Crote, Biagio commands the Black Fleet under Admiral Nicabar, while Vantran has made an alliance with the Hundred Islands of Liss, bent on vengeance against Nar. All these rivalries are fought out on a large and often vividly described stage, where flocks of attack ravens can destroy armies, soldiers march with both battering rams and poison gas, and sailing ships use rams and flame-throwers.

Biagio, Emperor of Nar, was once a madman and a tyrant. Now he wants peace. The irony is that no one believes him. Instead, the cruelest of his minions - Elrad Leth, Governor of Aramoor, and King Tassis Gayle of Talistan - are amassing an army to usurp his throne, bringing a new scourge of death to a battle-scarred world. But the wily Biagio, still a brilliantly devious leader, has one more desperate plan. At the heart of the scheme is Alazrian Leth, bastard son of Aramoor's governor. Barely sixteen, bookish and untrained, this young prince secretly possesses rare magical talents. Biagio sends Alazrian on a near-impossible mission: to convince outlawed priest Jahl Rob and his followers - the fearless Saints of the Sword - to search for the exiled ruler of Aramoor and the mysterious people called the Triin. If these ancient enemies can unite into one great army, a boy's strange and wonderful magic may be the spark to heal a wounded world...or set in motion an unimaginable betrayal.

A young king breaks with the past and makes peace with the kingdom his father has fought for years. To seal the bargain he is offered the hand of the kingdom's princess. And so begins a fast moving epic of madness, obsession, prejudice and sheer magic. John Marco has woven an intricate tale of personalities driven by love, hatred and ambition. Each character must, in the end, pay the price for their actions . . .

Akeela the Mad, King of Liiria, is dead. His once great kingdom lies in ruins. Akeela's great library, the Cathedral of Knowledge, still stands, and holed up in its fortresslike structure the remainder of Liiria's elite fighting troop make their final stand, desperately defending their land against usurpers. For Jazana Carr, the Diamond Queen, whose wealth has bought her the world's most powerful mercenary army, has overrun Norvor, and is now poised at Liiria's border.
Lukien, the Bronze Knight of Liiria, was once the kingdom's greatest champion. Consumed by guilt over his betrayal of Akeela, he now lives in self-imposed exile in the far southern desert. As penance for his past actions, Lukien has devoted himself to the protection of the mountain fortress of Grimhold, and now wears one of the magical amulets known as the Eyes of God. Word of Grimhold's healing magic has reached far and wide, and people from the war-torn lands in the north have come streaming across the vast southern desert. The Mistress of Grimhold has been overwhelmed by the requests for help—requests she can't grant, as the magical spirits that inhabit Grimhold and lend its inhabitants their healing talents are too few for the task.
But Grimhold itself harbors a threat that could far outweigh all others. Deep in the lowest levels of this ancient mountain stronghold, behind locked doors and magical seals, stands a suit of armor unlike any other. For millennia it has stood erect on its dais as if filled by an invisible body, pulsing with preternatural dark light, huge, black, horned and spiked, with a death's head helmet and rings of black chain mail.

Lukien, the Bronze Knight of Liiria, was once the kingdom's greatest champion-and then he betrayed his king. Consumed by guilt, he now lives in self-imposed exile, devoting himself to the protection of the mountain fortress of Grimhold and wearing one of the magical amulets known as the Eyes of God. But Grimhold is threatened by a murderous magical secret, the Devil's Armor, which has at last found a wearer. Only the hidden Sword of Angels can defeat the Devil's Armor-if Lukien can find it before it is too late.

The Internet Writing Journal: "Talking Fantasy With John Marco"
                                           "A Conversation With John Marco"