The first book in a long series, it starts simply enough--a young teen sees a legendary outlaw and in a moment of unplanned bravery saves him from overwhelming odds in a swordfight. That little act of rebellion is the first of many swashbuckling adventures in a strange new world of savagery, sorcery and super science (alleged acts? The narrator seems to be dishonest? unreliable? dumb? time-addled?). I don't know that I've ever read a novel where each chapter was so satisfying as the distinct adventure in a serial and deserving of a lurid cover image. The novel is available at Amazon in various collections, but I read it in the Libby app.
His obituary in the NY Times quotes an interview in which he described his writing style (and summarizes the feel of The Shadow of the Torturer):
“There’s a wonderful ‘Peanuts’ cartoon that pretty much describes what I’m talking about,” he said. “Snoopy is on the top of his doghouse and he writes something like: ‘A frigate appeared on the edge of the horizon. The king’s extravagances were bankrupting the people. A shot rang out. The dulcet voice of a guitar sounded at the window.’ Then he turns and looks at the reader and says, ‘In the last chapter I’m going to pull all this together!’"
(Best I could tell, he was describing Peanuts in general and a page from "Snoopy and 'It was a Dark and Stormy Night'")