Cirrus@Austlit

'A king corrupted, a sorcerer on the throne, a land in peril…

'Excommunicated cleric Saker returns from exile in the Spice Islands to find his homeland in chaos.

'A dark sorcerer controls the ear of the King, turning him against his own son and heir, while a corrupted army gathers in the shadows.

'With the illusionist Sorrel and islander Ardhi, armed with magic from Ardhi’s homeland, Saker now must stand between his city and the corruption that threatens to cripple it, before it is too late . . .'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'ONLY A TRAITOR CAN SAVE THEM

'When sailors came to Ardhi's homeland, they plundered not only its riches, but its magic too. Now disgraced islander Ardhi must retrieve what was stolen, but there are ruthless men after this power, men who will do anything to possess it...

'Sorcerers, pirates, and thieves collide in this thrilling sequel to Glenda Larke's epic fantasy adventure, The Lascar's Dagger.' (Publication summary)

'Saker appears to be a simple priest, but in truth he's a spy for the head of his faith. Wounded in the line of duty by a Lascar sailor's blade, the weapon seems to follow him home. Unable to discard it, nor the sense of responsibility it brings, Saker can only follow its lead. The dagger puts Saker on a journey to distant shores, on a path that will reveal terrible secrets about the empire, about the people he serves, and destroy the life he knows. The Lascar's dagger demands a price, and that price will be paid in blood.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Shale Flint is forced to help the devious rainlord, Taquar Sardonyx, in his quest to create rain - even though Taquar's lust for power threatens to consume all that stands in his path.

'Terelle leaves the Scarpen with her great-grandfather, Russet ... his painting of her future has trapped her into doing his will. Obsessed with regaining his status as a Watergiver lord in his homeland, it seems that Russet will go to any lengths to attain his goal.

'Meanwhile, Ryka Feldspar has been captured and taken as a concubine by a Reduner tribemaster. Desperate to escape, she discovers her Rainlord husband, Kaneth, in the slave lines ... but, to Ryka's despair, he has no memories of their time together.' (From the publisher's website.)

'The Cloudmaster and his stormlords command wealth and power. But can they save themselves from a rogue rainlord? Terelle is on the run when an old man with the ability to paint pictures on water employs her as his apprentice -- and paints her portrait. She thinks she is safe, until she discovers his floating artworks can fix an immutable future for those portrayed in them. She has become a prisoner of her own painted future.

The Cloudmaster and his stormlords keep the land alive with their power over water and rain. However, the current Cloudmaster is dying and has no stormlord heir because all the promising young men and women have died in troubling circumstances. An expedition mounted to scour the countryside for a potential stormlord locates a young village lad called Shale. Kidnapped and imprisoned, Shale finds himself a tool in a struggle between the warring factions of the land -- because whoever commands a stormlord, commands the water of a nation ...' Source: ww.harpercollins.com.au/ (Sighted 19/10/2009).

'Ligea’s son, Arrant, leaves Tyrans for Kardiastan to take his place as Mirager-heir, while Ligea prepares to halt an insurrection. But Arrant’s skills as a Magoroth are dangerously inconsistent, and his father, Temellin, finds it difficult to communicate with this secretive young man he barely knows.

'Arrant’s singular ability to communicate with his half-brother, Tarran – a part of the collective mind known as the Mirage Makers – leads them both towards the possibility of a tragic clash with the encroaching Ravage.

'As Arrant’s enemies among the Magoroth plot to ruin his family and his future as heir, he begins to realise there is a greater mystery to solve if he is to prevail.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Ligea Gayed has been lied to once too often. Now she has turned against her former employer, the secretive Brotherhood of the Tyrans Empire, and must evade Favonius and his Jackals while also recruiting others to fight with her.

'Yet, despite her best efforts, a rebellion is hard to come by. Except within her own family, of course. Ligea’s son, Arrant, is prey to feelings of inadequacy, and is angry about his mother’s relationship with a man who is not his father. Unable to accept what is happening to him, he becomes susceptible to the blandishments of his mother’s enemies. Worse still, in the middle of a war he is a Magoroth unable to control or use his power in a constructive way.

'In seeking to punish Ligea for her relationship with Brand, Arrant and those around him might well lose everything ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Stolen from her people as a child and raised as a citizen of the Tyranian Empire, Ligea Gayed is the obvious choice to despatch to her homeland, occupied Kardiastan, with orders to root out a rebel conspiracy.

'At first, she devotes herself to her new assignment with zeal. Adopted daughter of the Empire’s greatest general, and possessing a fearsome reputation within the ruthless Imperial spy network known as the Brotherhood, Ligea views herself as a loyal servant of Tyrans. But blood will out, and with each day she spends among her parents’ people, her disciplined self-image crumbles a little.

'And there are secrets in Kardiastan, secrets that will inevitably force Ligea to choose between her upbringing and her birthright. Secrets that will shape the destiny of two nations ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'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)

'An epic fantasy of politics and magic, history and truth. The Isles of Glory, caught in a maelstrom, will never be the same again. Blaze and Flame have fled Gorthan Spit and are now hunting for Morthred. Blaze and Flame know that any confrontation with the most accomplished and dangerous sorceror known to the Glory Isles is just as likely to end in their deaths. But Morthred's ancient spell over the Dustel Islanders must be reversed, or all of the Glory Isles are at risk. Gilfeather has been banished by his people and is unwittingly caught up in Blaze and Flame's dangerous quest. He finds himself hard put just to stay alive as they brave the unknown in search of their quarry. Although Morthred seems to be always one step ahead, Blaze is relentless in her pursuit, even when it becomes clear that something is wrong with Flame. But what? And can she be still be trusted?'

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

'The Eight Stabilities are islands of order surrounded by lethal chaos—and the order is being swallowed by the unstable. The religious leaders of Chantry try to maintain the Stabilities by ordering the necessity of a once in a lifetime pilgrimage across the chaos. And in that ever-changing world, the most important person is a mapmaker who can make a chart of secure pilgrimage routes...

'Keris Kaylen is a mapmaker's daughter. When her father is murdered and a mountain disappears, Keris is betrayed by her brother. Forced to flee into the Unstable, she finds her safety is in the hands of a man bonded to the Lord Carasma, the Unmaker ... and her ordered life is turned upside-down. Her survival will depend on a map and a place called Havenstar—but she can't reproduce the map, and Havenstar may not even exist ...'.

Source: author's website (http://glendalarke.com/news/).