Cirrus@Austlit

'The final battle has begun, but whose reality will prevail?

'Vous has ascended to godhood and Eric and Aziel return to the castle to defeat the Arch Mage. The dragons offer Eric and Aziel a throne and objects of great power, but what do they want in return?

'Meanwhile, at World′s End the new people have made contact. The haiyens say they have come to help, but it is possible that they have another agenda ...' (From the publisher's website.)

'The Wall at World′s End has been destroyed and Levaal stands naked again before its twin world. The Arch Mage seeks to unseat Vous before he joins the gods, but loyalties are fractured, within the Castle and among the Free Cities, as war and chaos looms. And a dragon may have escaped its sky prison, while a new alien force is rising by the name of Shadow.

'When Eric Albright opened a door and entered Levaal he was truly a stranger in a strange land. Now the Pilgrim seeks answers, on the dragons, the gods, the demon being called Tormentors, and on the disturbing link between himself and the being known as Shadow ... between our world and Levaal ...' (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.)

'No one is safe when even the past can′t be trusted Elcho falling is under siege from the forces of infinity.

'Axis must deal with treachery while Maximilian confronts the One in the depths of the citadel. Maximilian seems to have the upper hand, but finds his oldest ally′s advice disguises a vicious motive.

'Meanwhile, everyone has forgotten the Skraelings, who conceal a strange, ancient secret. Now these wraiths face a choice that appears to be no choice at all: the way of Infinity, or allying themselves with the StarMan, whom they have loathed for generations.

'In a heart-stopping conclusion to this superb trilogy, Maximilian and his friends battle for survival from the malevolent depths of DarkGlass Mountain to the pinnacle of a crumbling Elcho Falling and beyond ... as the past reaches out to seize Axis and drag him into yet another confrontation with his hated brother, Borneheld.' (From the publisher's website.)

'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)

'A land of mystery ... a corrupt society ... rare gifts which have been ignored and forgotten ..

'Hwenfayre has discovered the extraordinary powers of the driftwood harp left to her by a stranger - her father. But unless she learns self-control and discipline, the powers of the harp will continue to consume her.

'The First Son, Shanek, hunts down the ancient enemy of the Empire. But he is lost to his people, and as his power grows he is taken further and further from the world he knows - and from the person he once was.

'On Tanissan, a man with many names is scheming for the downfall of the Triumvirate and the world it protects ... and a boy who has never met his father discovers his true inheritance.

'And Aldere continues a journey that will have greater consequences than he could ever imagine ...' (Publisher's blurb, back cover)

'In Percheron, Zar Boaz is preparing for the imminent arrival of the Galinsean fleet and it seems inevitable that the realm will be plunged into war. His only hope is to use Lazar as a bargaining chip but it is likely that the Galinseans are past diplomacy. Despite the necessity for him to be in the city for the negotiations, the Spur is determined to travel back to the desert to rescue the abducted Zaradine Ana and bring her home.

'However, finding Ana will not be a simple task. She is being held by the despotic Arafanz and his fanatical followers and as it slowly becomes clear what the presumed madman plans for Percheron, Ana does not know if she is to survive ... and if she is, to what end?

'In the meantime a much larger doom hovers over Percheron that no-one but Pez and his nemesis, the charismatic Grand Vizier Tariq understand. The chaos between the neighbouring realms could become irrelevant when the final confrontation for the region's faith is played out.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Can healing defeat the sword?

'In seasons long past, twin gold-eyed princes sundered a kingdom. Rejecting his twin brother's warrior ways, Kasheron established a community deep in the southern forests.

'Forgotten by the outside world and protected by the trackless trees of Allogrenia, Kasheron's Tremen community has flourished, with his legacy of peace and healing upheld generations on.

'But now the forest has been breached by hostile intruders ...

'Fighting and bloodshed follow, testing even the skills of Kira, the greatest of all Tremen Healers. As well as sharing Kasheron's gift for healing, Kira has inherited his golden eyes and inspirational qualities - she, too, is seen as a leader amongst her people.

'As the attacks upon the Tremen become more violent, Kira is faced with a terrible dilemma. Should she stay and risk the annihilation of her community, or set out on a perilous journey north to seek aid from their long-lost warrior kin?' (Publisher's blurb)

'An eons-long battle has been taking place between the two sentient species of the world of the soldier, Shanek, and the outcast Hwenfayre. Instrumental in the fighting, and key to the victory of humanity, were three powerful sorcerers. When they departed, they left their powers behind to watch over the human world ...

'Now the enemy is reawakening, but the sorcerous powers have not only fallen into disuse, they have been forgotten ... the three who hold these powers at this time are quite unaware of their latent abilities, and of their significance.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Odalisque Ana is resigned to life in Percheron's famed harem and has little more than a blood-soaked veil to remind her that Spur Lazar, the man she loves, is dead. She is closely watched by the scheming Grand Master Eunuch, Salmeo, and the cunning and cruel Valide Herezah. The Valide, unhappy at Ana's influence over the young Zar, contrives a shrewd plan to bring about the beautiful young woman's demise. But greater forces are at work. The demon Maliz has taken the guise of Percheron's Grand Vizier in order to stalk Iridor, the traditional accomplice of the Goddess. And a war is brewing. A long-time enemy, Galinsea, intends to exact a vicious blood price for the death of its crown prince, Lucien, at the hands of the Percherese. However, the only person in the Stone Palace who can undertake the dangerous journey to Galinsea and negotiate for peace is about to die.'

Source: Back cover (HarperCollins 2006)

'In Percheron an old Zar dies and Boaz, the 15-year-old son of Herezah, his Absolute Favourite, takes power. Ambitious and scheming, Herezah arranges for her son's rivals to be disposed of with the help of the loathsome Grand Master Salmeo, and oversees the assembly of a new harem. One of its number is Ana, who enters a world where she wants for nothing ... except her freedom. Ana's only friends are Lazar, the secretive and eligible Spur of Percheron, and a seemingly insane dwarf called Pez. Her attempt at escape after witnessing a disturbing eunuch ritual and undergoing her own brutal Test of Virtue sets in motion forces beyond anyone's control... Even more mysterious is the rising of Iridor heralding a new cycle in the war of faith led by the evil Maliz that will enmesh them all in a deadly battle between gods.'

Source: Publisher's website www.voyageronline.com.au (Sighted 15/4/10)

'In a remote city on the edge of two worlds, where blood has power and water is more precious than freedom, three far-flung friends unite on a quest to save their families. Sal Hrvati’s estranged father has brought more into the world than the woman he loved. Instead of saving her from the Void Beneath, he has summoned an unknown creature — a creature with a mission of its own and a past that stretches back to the beginning of the world. The quest to find both of them entangles Sal and his companions in a hunt for magical treasure on the floor of the Divide, a mighty crack in the earth inhabited by creatures that are not remotely human. Desert landscapes and dirigibles feature in a fast-paced fantasy that combines romance, adventure, and humor with an original take on magic.

'The Books of the Cataclysm take inspiration from many arcane and mythological sources. In positing that this world is just one of many "realms," three of which are inhabited by humans during various stages of their lives, it begins in the present world but soon propels the reader to a landscape that is simultaneously familiar and fantastic.' (Publication summary)

'An epic fantasy of politics and magic, history and truth. The Isles of Glory, caught in a maelstrom, will never be the same again. In this final book of the trilogy, the islandoms of the archipelago are torn apart by change as the Keepers, under the ambitious Syr-sylv Duthrick, and the Menod, led by a conflicted Syr-Aware Ryder, battle for political ascendancy over the Isles. The alien ghemphic race are forced to take sides, ending generations of neutrality, while the social structure of citizenship collapses and the Dustel birds battle their disabilities to live in a human world. Against the backdrop of upheaval, Blaze Halfbreed struggles to rescue Flame from the terrible legacy Morthred has left behind and Kelwyn Gilfeather commits himself to the destruction of magic. And 50 years into the future, Anyara Treron sails with a Kellish fleet, seeking her own destiny and validation in the Isles of Glory.'

Source: Publisher's website (Sighted 19/4/10)

'When mirror twins Seth and Hadrian Castillo travel to Europe on holidays, they don’t expect the end of the world to follow them. Seth’s murder, however, puts exactly that into motion.

'From opposite sides of death, the Castillo twins grapple with a reality neither of them suspected, although it has been encoded in myths and legends for millennia. The Earth we know is just one of many "realms", three of which are inhabited by humans during various stages of their lives. And their afterlives...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.