''The Mark of the Demons'' is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novel by American writer

John Jakes John William Jakes (born March 31, 1932) is an American writer, best known for American historical and speculative fiction. His Civil War trilogy, ''North and South'', has sold millions of copies worldwide. He is also the author of The Kent Famil ...

, featuring his

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...

hero Brak the Barbarian.

Publication history

The novel was first published under the title ''Brak the Barbarian Versus the Mark of the Demons'' in paperback by

Paperback Library Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Grou ...

in September 1969. It was reprinted by

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...

in September 1977, and by Tower Books (under the shortened title ''Brak Vs. The Mark of the Demons'') in 1981. British editions were issued under the author's preferred title ''The Mark of the Demons'' by Tandem in 1970 (reprinted in 1976) and Star/W. H. Allen in March 1988. The book was also issued under this title in audio-cassette by Sunset Productions in 1994. It was later gathered together with ''

Brak the Barbarian ''Brak the Barbarian'' is a short-fiction collection by American writer John Jakes, featuring his sword and sorcery hero of the same name. Publication history The individual stories titled "Ghosts of Stone" and "The Courts of the Conjuror" origina ...

'' and two stories from ''

The Fortunes of Brak ''The Fortunes of Brak'' is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer John Jakes featuring his sword and sorcery hero Brak the Barbarian. It includes all Brak stories not previously gathered into the earlier books in the series. Pub ...

'' into the omnibus collection ''Brak the Barbarian / Mark of the Demons'', published as an ebook by Open Road Integrated Media in July 2012. The novel has been translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Plot

Continuing his quest to reach the glorious southern realm of Khurdisan the Golden, Brak, a blond, braided, and broadsword-wielding barbarian from the frozen north, crosses the desolate desert of Logol. By chance, he meets a duo of royal twins whose throne has been usurped, and seek a champion to restore them. But their motives are dubious, their word untrustworthy, and behind all lurks the menace of the corrupt and evil cult of the demon god Yob-Haggoth, whose followers bear unrelenting hatred towards Brak.

Reception

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

, commenting on the book together with ''Witch of the Four Winds'', likens Brak to

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

's barbarian hero Kothar, calling the character "a virtual twin of" Fox's. "Jakes uses a very small cast of characters, and poor Brak is starved, frozen, and exhausted most of the time. Instead of wearing a warm coat and pants like any sensible Northerner, he runs around in freezing weather naked but for that damned lion skin (with tail). Still, pretty good fun."De Camp, L. Sprague. Review in ''Amra'' v. 2, no. 52, April 1970, p. 14. The novel was also reviewed by Richard Rieve in ''Son of the WSFA Journal'' no. 24, 1971.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark of the Demons, The 1969 American novels 1969 fantasy novels Novels by John Jakes