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I have a vivid memory of a book/story I read in the 1990's which means it could have been written anytime between the 40's and the 90's as I was being introduced to scifi/fantasy in the 1980's and 1990's. I don't have much beyond the initial setting of the story - guy wakes up lying on a battlefield, in the snow, at sunrise and he doesn't have amnesia or anything, he just recovers from being knocked out in a battle, but everybody else is dead or dying and he's been left for dead. I have the impression that the battle was barbarians with axes and swords, but it's just an impression. He wakes up, binds his wounds and heads out for vengeance, maybe, or to escape the wolves, then vengeance.

This was set in a fictional world, not ours. I don't remember any fantastical aspects of the setting, although I wouldn't be surprised if there were elves.

I've been re-reading Conan thinking it was a Conan story but it doesn't seem like it is one of Howard's original stories. Around that time, I was heavy into Conan, starting in on Michael Moorcock and all over the place in terms of scifi.

It's not much to go on, but y'all are amazing so I thought I would ask. If I think of something else, I'll add it. But, I figure if my memory of that first scene is so vivid, maybe it stuck with someone else, too.

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  • what SciFi or fantasy component do you remember? ... please add the description to the question, not in a comment
    – jsotola
    Commented Aug 31 at 17:28
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    @jsotola fair question - I don't remember a specific sci-fi, fantasy component, but those are the only genres I read then. I would say that the realm was entirely fictional - it wasn't set in our world. Beyond that, I'll have to give it some more thought.
    – decuser
    Commented Aug 31 at 17:31
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    I'm getting a David Gemmel vibe here.
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Aug 31 at 17:58
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    Though you've ruled out Howard's Conan - the one you're looking for is Frost Giant's Daughter (wiki) - slightly different as starts at the end of a battle and you would likely remember the chasing of the daughter and subsequent battle (no spoilers)
    – fdomn-m
    Commented Sep 2 at 16:25

2 Answers 2

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I will go out on a limb here and offer up Shadow by K.J.Parker, published in 2001 From the Goodreads text.

A man wakes in the wilderness, amid scattered corpses and inquisitive crows. He has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. The only clues to his former existence lie in his apparent skill with a sword and the fragmented dreams that permeate his sleep.

Alone in a hostile world he moves from village to village, masquerading as a god to obtain food and shelter. But the shadow of his past pursues him relentlessly. It whispers to him a riddle far more complex than he could ever have imagined - and a truth he may not wish to believe.

Other memory prompting details include a style of sword fighting the main character, who takes the name Poldarn the god he is masquerading as, is proficient in is based on entry into his 'circle' he's capable of defeating a quite staggering number of opponents based on moving when this circle is breached.

He meets a woman called Copis who creates the masquerade and plays his priestess, moving him from village to village on a cart. Where circumstances around their presence seem to fit the god's story. Poldarn sneezes a number of times during the night, and a matching number of people die.

This is the start of a trilogy and it gets stranger as it goes on.

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    This sounds like a fascinating story, but the guy I'm thinking of doesn't lose his memory and it doesn't go stranger :).
    – decuser
    Commented Aug 31 at 19:42
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    @decuser well I'm going to hope for at least five pity votes... And that someone comes up with the right answer later. Too few questions here get more than one answer.
    – Jontia
    Commented Aug 31 at 22:36
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    @Jontia Is it any good? It sounds interesting, but too many interesting starting points don't go anywhere worthwhile.
    – Graham
    Commented Sep 1 at 10:18
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    @Graham it was well written and engaging as I recall. It does move well away from the almost real world rule set to full on fantastical by the end of the trilogy though. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.
    – Jontia
    Commented Sep 1 at 16:19
  • @Jontia Sounds worth a look then - thank you!
    – Graham
    Commented Sep 1 at 20:00
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Unless you're sure it was a book, it could be the premium module 'Witch's Wake' for the computer game Neverwinter Nights. It starts in a very similar way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neverwinter_Nights:_Kingmaker#Witch's_Wake

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  • Wikipedia plot summary says the player character wakes up with no memories, whereas the OP said the protagonist of the story they're looking for doesn't have amnesia. Also, OP said they read the story they're looking for in the '90s, whereas Witch's Wake was first released in 2004.
    – LogicDictates
    Commented Sep 2 at 14:00
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    2004 for 90s is totally legit. scifi.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/13892/…
    – Jontia
    Commented Sep 2 at 14:08
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    @Jontia - If that was the only thing that was off the mark about this answer, I likely wouldn't have posted that comment. But this answer is off the mark in regards to the medium, plot, and the timeframe.
    – LogicDictates
    Commented Sep 2 at 19:47

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