Cirrus@Austlit

'A great frozen land stretches up into the Arctic Circle, and the winter keeps its secrets. There are places where humanity cannot go, and places where they cannot rule. Indeed, back in pre-history humanity was not the driving force of civilisation, and there were other creations, some celebrated, but others hidden. Above all, there were the Transanima. And on through the centuries some Transanima survived, pushing deeper into the ice-lands. What happens beyond the glaciers is known to very few. Skarga’s father believes she is cursed. Shunned by her family, she has adopted an orphaned child, one of many left out in the snow when there are too many mouths to feed. As she battles for her rights and struggles for a better life, this child brings Skarga happiness. What he will eventually bring her in the future, she cannot possibly guess. Taken off by the mysterious stranger paid by her father to slaughter her, Skarga and her young protégé sail across the northern sea to distant islands. Yet not everything is as it seems for these sailors are unusual in many ways, and can do things no human man should be able to do. But she is no victim, and she escapes. Now the mystery grows. Skarga’s adventure is only just beginning …'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The second part of the Stars and a Wind Trilogy takes Skarga deeper into the mysteries of a vast frozen land, with unknown creatures. Still unsure who is friend and who is enemy, all she does know is that she is deeply in love. Skarga clings to the hope that her new lover will protect her, and perhaps even love her back. But there are more dangers waiting. Mandegga is one of the last female Transanima, she believes it is her right to claim the dominant male and procreate. Skarga is just a small human, but she must beat Mandegga if she is to stand a chance of staying by Thoddun’s side and surviving her brothers’ threatened attack. Skarga will not always be welcome, and although she knows where she is going, she does not know what else she will find there. Other dangers creep closer. Some are very familiar but others do not even have a name.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Skarga has discovered love but not safety. War is imminent, but no battle will be fought on equal terms. The great ice halls, the glaciers, and the vast horizon pause as the hoards from the south march forwards. But they cannot possibly understand what is waiting for them and nothing is exactly as it seems. There is a good deal more to discover and Thoddun is the ultimate puzzle. The swirling arctic sky sings passion and hatred, of cruelty and kindness, of peace and destiny! But in the end victory will be frozen in the eternal ice.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.