Cirrus@Austlit

'Relieved that Lorkin is coming home, Sonea prepares to meet with the Traitors on behalf of the Guild. Then bad news arrives: the Sachakan king has imprisoned her son.

'As the Sachakan king tries to force Lorkin into betraying the Traitors, Dannyl questions his friendship with Ashaki Achati. Can he trust the Sachakan? Not at all, if Tayend is right. But do Tayend's suspicions spring from good political instincts, or jealousy?

'Easily evading capture by the Guild, the Rogue knows only one obstacle lies between him and his ambition to rule the underworld: Cery. Forced into hiding, protected by Lilia, Cery must wait for the Guild to find his enemy. But is Black Magician Kallen purposefully failing in his task?

'And Lorkin must decide where his loyalties lie, for whatever choice he makes will require a great sacrifice.' (Publisher's blurb)

'The Denova Empire is flourishing under Loethar's rule, to the surprise of many. Peace, prosperity and pride has swept across the realms as Loethar urges the invading people of the Steppes to integrate with the west. The harmony is his great achievement but Loethar is bored. So is Leo, the self proclaimed true king, living in seclusion in the forests. Now 22, he is eager to stake his claim and return the Valisar dynasty to the throne.

Freath, meanwhile continues his double life, secretly loyal to Valisar but working as sage counsel to the Empire. When he learns that the lost invalid heir, Piven, is alive he sets a plan in motion to find and reunite the brothers in safety.

But a new evil is stirring that none could have foreseen and only one person knows that the legendary Valisar Enchantment is rising. Soon the wars and destruction that formed an empire will seem a squabble by comparison to the darkness that is threatening.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Sibeal has always known that she is destined for a spiritual life, and is committed to it with all her heart. The only thing left for her to do before she enters the nemetons is to spend the summer visiting her sisters, Muirrin and Clodagh, on the northern island of Inis Eala.

'But Sibeal has barely set foot on the island before a freak storm out at sea sinks a ship before her eyes. In spite of frantic efforts, only three survivors are fished alive from the water, and one of them, a man Sibeal names Ardal, clings to life by the merest thread.

'Life continues on the island, as it must, and Sibeal befriends Ardal as he begins to regain his health. But it becomes clear there is something unusual about the three shipwrecked strangers. Why won't the beautiful Svala speak? And what is it that the gravely ill Ardal can't remember - or won't tell? When a visiting warrior is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, and an attempt is made on Ardal's life, Sibeal finds herself a pawn in a deadly game. The truth will be far more astonishing than she could ever have believed - and the consequences for Sibeal unimaginable.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Alliances shift as decades-old secrets can no longer be hidden. The revelation that Emperor Loethar and his enemy, King Leonel, share the same paternal royal blood destroys previous loyalties. And it seems that Piven is no longer the helpless orphan everyone believed him to be. Perhaps most startling of all is the discovery that the first Valisar princess to survive in centuries is returning to the world and may well wield the famed Valisar Enchantment.

As the empire threatens to tear itself to pieces, former enemies must now work on the same side and friends become the hunted to protect the imperial line.

At all costs royal blood must prevail ... even when it pitches Valisar against Valisar.' (From the publisher's website.)

'The sorcerer has awoken and blights the land ... while the innocent mage hovers between life and death.

Rafel′s expedition over the mountains to Lost Dorana has disappeared. Now Deenie is having disturbing dreams of her brother and determines to seek the truth. In the company of her best friend she finds a way beyond Lur, only to find that the evil sorcerer, Morg, still holds those lands in a tenuous but strengthening grip.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Caitrin, daughter of Berach, flees her home in Market Cross, running from her grief and mistreatment at the hands of her kinsfolk. Bruised and alone she arrives at Whistling Tor - a formidable fortification presided over by the local chieftain, Anluan. The villagers scorn and curse him for being a weak and unsupportive leader, unresponsive to their pleas for him to rid the surrounding forest of the ghostly and eerie manifestations that have plagued it for generations.

But desperate for work and shelter, Caitrin ignores their warnings, thinking them nothing more than fanciful tales and seeks refuge at the Tor. Here she encounters giant hounds, malevolent whispering in the night and the rare and precious herb, Heart's Blood; not to mention the moody and cursed Anluan.

As Caitrin slowly begins to regain control of her life, she discovers that not everything is as it seems in this mysterious place. What does Anluan's skewed features and anger hide? Who are the men and women of the Host? What might the ancient manuscripts and family documents in the library reveal? And why does Caitrin get the distinct impression that there is a dark and powerful force on the hill that doesn't want her to find the truth?' Source: www.panmacmillan.com.au/ (Sighted 17/03/2010).

'Years ago, at the cost of many lives, 
Asher defeated the dark sorcerer, Morg, 
and brought peace to Lur ...

But now, happily raising a family, Asher realises that peace and safety are an illusion. Something has woken in Lur′s earth, creating weather that threatens to tear their world apart. Asher thinks he can save Lur by wielding the dangerous magic that he loathes ... and which may take his life.

Rafel, Asher′s son, is a mage of great power, but he has to break free of his father to truly discover his talents. All previous expeditions over the forbidden mountains have met with disaster and death, but Rafel is determined to try. As father and son struggle to understand each other, elsewhere a great evil is brewing ...' (Publisher's blurb)

'The Circlians have secured victory over the Pentadrian army, but Auraya′s sleep remains filled with nightmares of war. And the one person she once loved and trusted, Leiard, has disappeared.

When a sickness sweeps through the tribes of the Siyee, the White send Auraya to help them. It is there that she begins to learn the truth about Leiard ... And far to the south, the Pentadrians lick their wounds and set about finding a new leader.

Their faith unshaken, they are still resolved to convert the heathens of the north. In the aftermath of war, the Priestess is forced to make a terrible choice - the consequences of which could change the world forever.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'Led by Loethar, an ambitious and ruthless tyrant, a terrifying army of mercenaries and renegades from the great southern steppes threaten to overwhelm the Kingdom of Penraven, having already overthrown its two neighbouring realms, leaving a trail of devastation and broken lives in their wake.

'Penraven is Loethar's most desired prize, not only because of its wealth, safe harbour, extensive coastline, and abundant natural resources. This time the tyrant wants more than a crown. Driven by dreams of empire, fuelled by his increasing obsession with magic, Loethar's plan to overthrow King Brennus of Penraven, 9th of the Valisars, was cemented the hour upon when he learned that Brennus possessed the power of coercion.

'All of the Valisar heirs have been blessed down the ages with the sinister ability to bend people entirely to their will and Loethar is convinced that if he consumes these empowered people he will then be imbued with their skills and magics... and be unstoppable.' (Publisher's blurb)