Thraxas is a private investigator in the city of Turai. He has some sorcerous powers but mainly he just drinks a lot of beer. Consequently he's always broke and has to live in the poor part of the city. Thraxas is overweight, bad tempered, and a keen gambler at the chariot races. He doesn't make for a pretty sight. His friend Makri is reckoned to be a good deal more attractive, but with her Orcish and Elvish blood, she does have a tendency to be violent.

The first Thraxas novel won the World Fantasy Award. There are now ten books in the Thraxas series, all of which are widely available as ebooks.