Robbing tombs for fun and profit might not be a stable career, but Egil and Nix aren’t in it for the long-term prospects. Egil is the hammer-wielding warrior-priest of a discredited god. Nix is a roguish thief with just enough knowledge of magic to conjure up trouble. Together, they seek riches and renown, yet often find themselves enlisted in lost causes—generally against their will. So why should their big score be any different? The trouble starts when Nix and Egil kill the demonic guardian of a long-lost crypt, nullifying an ancient pact made by the ancestors of an obscenely powerful wizard. Now the wizard will stop at nothing to keep that power from slipping away, even if it means freeing a rapacious beast from its centuries-old prison. And who better than Egil and Nix—the ones responsible for his current predicament—to perform this thankless task?

Egil and Nix have retired, as they always said they would. No, really – they have! No more sword and hammer-play for them! But when two recent acquaintances come calling for help, our hapless heroes find themselves up against the might of the entire Thieves Guild. And when kidnapping the leader of the most powerful guild in the land seems like the best course of action, you know you’re in over your head… A hugely-enjoyable stand-alone adventure in classic sword and sorcery mode, from the New York Times bestselling author of "Star Deceived" and "The Hammer and the Blade". File Fantasy [ Incriminating | Mind Matters | One Last Time | The Steal Remains ]

"A Better Man" was published in the anthology Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues. About this story, author Paul S. Kemp says, "Egil and Nix feature in my sword and sorcery novels, The Hammer and the Blade, A Discourse in Steel, and A Conversation in Blood. Their stories are pacy, filled with action and wit (I hope). I think of them as a cross of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, spiced with a bit of Conan and Indiana Jones. I hope you enjoy listening to their stories as much as I do writing them." "A Better Man" takes place after the events of A Discourse in Steel, though it is entirely stand-alone.

Egil and Nix, the hard-fighting, harder-drinking fortune hunters of The Hammer and the Blade and A Discourse in Steel, are back to test their mettle and tempt fickle fate. Fantasy fiction has long welcomed adventurous rogues: Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, George R. R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg, and Scott Lynch’s Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen have all made their mark. In his Egil & Nix series, New York Times bestselling author Paul S. Kemp introduces a daring new duo to the ranks of fantasy fame—or is it infamy? Nix is a nimble thief with just enough knowledge of magic to get into serious trouble. Egil is the only priest of a discredited god. Together, they seek riches and renown, but somehow it is always misadventure and mayhem that find them—even in the dive bar they call home. And their luck has yet to change. All Nix wants to do is cheer Egil up after a bout of heartbreak. And, of course, strike it so rich that they need never worry about their combined bar bill. But when the light-fingered scoundrel plunders a tomb and snatches mysterious golden plates covered in runes, the treasure brings terrifying trouble. Pursued by an abomination full of ravenous hunger and unquenchable wrath, Egil and Nix find all they hold dear—including their beloved tavern—in dire peril. To say nothing of the world itself.