Before Chant Sinclair, awesome warrior with a deadly secret past, self-employed mercenary/con man and the hero of these books, there was Chant Kendry, awesome warrior with a deadly secret past, brain damaged painter who suffers "vivid dreaming" that gives him deep insight into other people's problems.

I had conjured up Mr. Kendry between midnights and dawns, during a stint working as a night security guard, a job I had taken first, because I had run out of money, and second, because it gave me the time to think and write in an effort to get back into the full time freelancer game. During this time I was approached by a publisher who wanted me to create an original paperback series aimed at the male, blue collar, action-adventure crowd. The only proviso was that the books would be written under a pseudonym, a "house name" that would belong to the publisher, enabling him to bring in other writers to augment or continue the series under the correct assumption that I would have other things to do besides write the 2 to 3 books a year he envisioned. I would still get royalties on all books and retain film rights, no matter who wrote them. Sounded like a deal to me, and it would enable me to escape the most disagreeable world of night I'd entered.

I was so confident that Mr. Chant Kendry was perfect for the series that I wrote the first two novels in the time the contract was being negotiated. I regretted that they would be published under a pseudonym, for I felt I'd done some of my best writing, but it seemed nothing could be done about that. When I received the contract and advance money, I triumphantly sent off the manuscripts to my editor, expecting accolades. What I got instead was the news that what I had written was not even close to what the publisher had in mind for the series. Uh-oh. Panic turned to despair as the editor began to explain to me the major surgery that would be required to make the works acceptable. I didn't want to change anything, so I proposed that I keep those two novels and start over from scratch. The editor graciously agreed, with the proviso that the publisher retain the right to the name Chant, just about the only thing in the two books the editor liked. Thus was Chant Sinclair born, and my proposals were accepted. As I proceeded, I began to hear complaints that the writing and plots were too complicated for this audience. I didn't know any other way to write, and so I persisted. It seems the editor was right; sales were disappointing, and the series was cancelled after three books. Chant would eventually become part of Mongo's entourage. In the meantime, I had found a publisher for the first two books, which now featured Veil Kendry. Veil, too, would eventually become an important part of Mongo's entourage.

Meet John Sinclair. Medal of Honor. Black Belt. The savage fury of the West meets the ancient power of the East in one awesome warrior-for-hire.

Chant

Genius of disguise, master of intrigue, adept in the killing arts, Chant has brought his body under his mind's control and he can make anyone's heart stop beating in a second. Even his own.

Chant

In every government there's at least one person trying to buy him, and another trying to kill him. Neither can be done. Chant only takes the jobs he wants...and completes them with deadly precision.

Chant

No one can stop him. Except perhaps the man called Bai. The sensei who, years ago, trained him. The sensei now hired to kill him....

• "...In my experience, I've found most people to simply be indifferent to other people's problems-probably because they can barely cope with their own." -Chant Sinclair

• "...pornographers, slavemasters, baby-sellers, rapists, killers...tend to lack imagination. One of the reasons they're able to live with themselves and attend church every Sunday is their inability to imagine others' pain and terror; these things, along with their death, become real to them only when they experience them personally." -Chant Sinclair

• "...I believe the only worthwhile goal in life is the accumulation of personal power, no matter what the cost; I believe that concerns about honor and truth are distractions." -Master Bai

• "Only when one has burned away all concerns with others' feelings can one achieve the greatest heights of power." -Master Bai

• "...You...made the fundamental error of failing to correctly perceive the true nature of your enemy." -Master Bai

• "...I'll pass on the illusion of an honorable death; death is death, life offers the only opportunities for honor." -Chant Sinclair

• "...The trick is to not let feelings control behavior..." -Chant Sinclair

• "...love is the deadliest, cruelest weapon of all, because it can destroy a person without killing." -Soussan

• "The lesson is that you and a teacher will find each other when you are ready to absorb the particular lesson that master has to give you." -Chant Sinclair

• "...The greatest battles are won by manipulation, not force..." -Chant Sinclair

• "...Evil...arises from the betrayal of trust and the harm and destruction of innocents..." -Chant Sinclair