Mankind once ruled plant Earth, smugly ignoring the tiny creatures crawling underfoot. Then came the cosmic catastrophe which put man at the mercy of the giant spiders, icily intelligent conquerors armed with awesome mind powers. It's their planet now, except for...The Fortress. Enslaved humanity cherishes the legend of the lost Fortress and its world-shattering weaponry. Seeking the mythic citadel is Niall, the first of a new breed of psionic warriors. Battling monsters and traitors, he leads a rebel band on a desperate quest deep in the Death Lord spider's domain. And as they hunt for the ultimate weapon...a spider army hunts them.Edition note: while this is the third volume of the 1988-1989 Spider World series, it was also originally (and later) part of most editions of and "The Tower and ". The 1988 edition of and "The Tower and " split the formerly unified book into three, respectively and "The Desert and ", and "The Tower and " and and "The Fortress and ", leading to considerable confusion.