Cirrus@Austlit

'Cadvan of Lirigon, once the most brilliant young Bard of his generation, is exiled for a terrible crime which caused the death of his lover, Ceredin, and the serious injury of his rival, Dernhil of Gent. Racked by guilt and self-contempt, he flees to a poor mining village, seeking a new life as a humble cobbler. His exile is broken when Dernhil tracks him down, with the news that the evil Cadvan unwittingly loosed on Annar, the revenant Bone Queen, is stalking Lirigon. Together the Bards must save not only the living, but also the dead. But can Dernhil forgive the injury that Cadvan caused him? And can Cadvan ever forgive himself?

'Critically acclaimed fantasy author Alison Croggon returns to Pellinor with The Bone Queen, a prequel to the events described in the popular Books of Pellinor quartet. The Bone Queen tells the story of Cadvan‘s struggle for redemption, as the Dark begins its quest to destroy the Bards of Annar.' (Source: Author website)

'From the internationally bestselling author of The Books of Pellinor comes a powerful story about the exploitation of indigenous people by the First World. In Simbala's village they have two treasures: the River, which is their road and their god; and the Book, which is their history, their oracle and their soul. Simbala is a Keeper of the Book, the latest in a long line of women who can use it to find answers to the villagers' questions. As developers begin to poison the River on which the villagers rely, the Book predicts change. But this does not come in the form that they expect; it is the sympathetic Westerner that comes to the village who inflicts the greatest damage of all.' (Publication summary)