Cirrus@Austlit

'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.

'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.

'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.

'Andrew Cobham is a man of unconventional behaviour, his home is unusually grand, and he answers no questions. But as he keeps his own secrets safe, so he works to uncover those of others.

'It is 1483 and King Edward IV wears England’s crown, but no king rules unchallenged. Often it is those closest to him who are the unexpected danger. When the king dies suddenly without clear cause, then rumour replaces fact – and Andrew Cobham is already working behind the scenes.

'Tyballis, when orphaned young, was forced into marriage with her neighbour, a bully and a simpleton. When she escapes his abuse, she meets Andrew Cobham, and gradually an uneasy alliance forms. Their friendship will take them in unusual directions as Tyballis becomes embroiled in Andrew’s work and the danger which surrounds him.' (Publication summary)

'The myriad difficulties and colourful details of early Tudor times are vividly portrayed in this book. From the royal court to the dungeons of the Tower and from the vast chill of Sumerford Castle in Somerset to Execution Hill in London, the late medieval is brought back to life in all its beauty, filth and complexity. This turbulent period of history serves as the violent but compelling background to the lives of the Sumerford brothers, and in particular to Ludovic’s path from obscurity towards the changing fortunes of great love, national loyalty, family responsibility and finally happiness. ' (Publisher's blurb)