"If you're into lots of action, magical battles pitting wizards and soldiers against hordes of undead creatures, demons and other supernatural creatures, unholy alliances, a lich making its move to conquer all, and a doomed love story, then this rousing tale of good vs. evil is for you! Fans of Cunningham, Denning, Salvatore and Kemp should enjoy this one!" -- Fantasy Hot List on Unclean

Bareris Anskuld, who reunited with Tammith just long enough to fall in love again before she was brutally destroyed, sacrificed his life to help the zulkirs and their army escape, leaving the kingdom of Thay in Szass Tam's cold, dead hands. He was punished for his sacrifice with undeath. In search of revenge, Bareris runs across Szass Tam's darkest secret, a secret that brings him all the way from the wilds of Thay to the exiled zulkirs with a plea they dare not ignore: return to fight Szass Tam, or the world ends.

The world held its breath once the civil war ended, and Szass Tam closed his iron fist around Thay -- but Thay remained quiet, desolate, and crawling with undead. Instead of conquering neighboring kingdoms, Szass Tam began building using his amassed armies to build strange fortresses around the borders of his land. Years passed, and the world let out a collective sigh of relief. But Szass Tam has more in mind than architecture. Szass Tam has a vision -- a vision of a perfect world, a world without sin . . . a world in his image.

For as long as anyone can remember, Thay has been ruled by eight archmages -- one for each of the eight magical Arts -- known as the council of zulkirs. Until the brilliant zulkir of necromancy, Szass Tam, drove the other zulkirs out of Thay to cower in exile. Now, the name "Thay" is synonymous with the undead, and not even the cruel Red Wizards dare dread its unhallowed ground. But Szass Tam's plans are far from complete. The Haunted Lands begins with Unclean.