Scholars and Soldiers is Mary Gentle's first story collection, including two original novellas set in the same universe as her new novel, Rats and Gargoyles. She burst onto the science fiction scene with two bestselling novels, Golden Witchbreed and Ancient Light, and shows here that her talents are equally suited to the shorter form as to the novel. From a story set on Orthe, the world of her earlier novels, to the unclassifiable Tarot Dice, these stories all prove one thing - that Mary Gentle can never be relied upon to take the easy, expected way out. This collection is a major achievement in the career of one of the world's leading fantasists.