Flamesong

Flamesong is a 1985 science-fantasy novel written by M. A. R. Barker and published by DAW Books. It is the second novel to take place on the fictional planet of Tékumel, also featured in Barker's role-playing game Empire of the Petal Throne (1974). The plot follows a group of far-future legionaries who discover an ancient "tubeway car" by accident and inadvertently use it to explore various exotic locales.

Flamesong is not a direct sequel to the first Tékumel novel The Man of Gold, as it features a different cast of characters. It also hints towards the beginning of a larger, more world-changing story arc. Unlike The Man of Gold, Flamesong was only published in the U.S. and no foreign-language editions followed. It has not been reprinted or published in digital format. As a consequence, Flamesong is somewhat difficult to find in the second-hand market and is more obscure than its predecessor.

As is the case with The Man of Gold, Flamesong features no separate description of the setting, although a short treatise on its fictional languages is subjoined. Also included are advertisements for the Tsolyáni dictionary and grammar and a role-playing source book detailing the setting. The novel attracted favorable reviews but was not commercially very successful.

Flamesong was the last collaboration between Barker and the DAW editor Donald A. Wollheim. Reportedly, they fell out after Barker urged Wollheim to take legal action against Raymond Feist, believing the latter's Riftwar series to be a plagiate of Tékumel. Barker also had a dispute with the role-playing game publisher TSR which claimed to be entitled to royalties from the Tékumel novels.