In this adept fourth volume of the Deverry tales, Kerr's world grows denser and more complex as the forces of darkness and light do battle. Rhodry, who will one day rule Aberwyn, has been abducted and taken as a slave to the land of Bardek, home to the evil Dark Council. The Council is using him to lure into destruction the sorcerer Nevyn, chief of the forces of light. The elf Salamander, Rhodry's half-brother, and the mercenary Jill, Rhodry's lover, go in search of the missing lord. While the rescuers wander through Bardek as itinerant magicians, Jill learns how to handle her "dweomer,"sp. OK the power with which she is gifted. When Nevyn arrives, almost falling into the trap, he and his companions succeed in destroying the head of the Dark Council. Meanwhile in Deverry, Lovyan, Rhodry's mother, must fend off contenders for her son's position, while protecting Rhodda, Rhodry's illegitimate daughter, from assassination attempts. Perhaps anticipating another installment, Kerr purposely leaves some loose ends untied, and in a surprisingly unromantic twist, the hero and heroine must find their separate destinies.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"No one does real, live, gritty Celtic fantasy better than Katharine Kerr."
--Judith Tarr
From the Paperback edition.