A secret history

the long version

Probably the biggest fantasy novel ever published in a single volume, Mary Gentle's magnificent tale of the gutsy and beautiful mercenary leader Ash will take you on an unforgettable ride through medieval Europe as it never quite was: For Ash, life has always been arquebuses and artillery, swords and armor, and the true horrors of hand-to-hand combat. War is her job. But she doesn't realize that the voice in her head is not the Lord and His Saints, but something far, far stranger...