The Ladies of Mandrigyn

In the beginning it felt like I knew exactly what kind of book it would be (Fritz Leiber plus some ladies thrown in), but then it started to do its own thing and I just fell in love. Yes, there are heroes and ladies (and heroic ladies), but mostly there are people who (through heroic deeds) slowly learn important things about themselves and other people - basically that they, too, are persons and not some characters in their story. And it's exhilarating. And I like heroes.