Product Description

Ryshad had no choice but to kill his long-time friend and ally Aiten. Aiten's mind had been corrupted by the mysterious Elietimm and he was a danger to himself and a deadly threat to others. But that is no consolation to the grieving Ryshad and certainly will be of no help when he tries to explain it to Aiten's family. To distract him from his troubles and from the strange dreams he has been having, Ryshad's patron, Messire D'Olbriot, sends him to Caladhria to assist the wizard Shiv, who is working for the Archmage himself. The wizards are trying to find a way to combat the strange aetheric magic of the Elietimm, which threatens to destroy the land. But Ryshad's desire to help goes far beyond the patriotic - he seeks revenge for the death of Aiten. What he doesn't know yet is that he will have to work with Livak, with whom he had a brief love affair, and that the strange dreams he has been having may hold the key to the mysterious Elietimm ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #222187 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Review
'A wonderful debut' J.V. Jones 'A well written and impressive debut' TIME OUT 'A fine novel ... an extremely promising debut' BLACK TEARS 'Involving and fast-moving ... a very promising debut' STARBURST

TIME OUT
'A well written and impressive debut'

BLACK TEARS
'A fine novel ... an extremely promising debut'

Customer Reviews

Even better than debut novel...write faster Ms McKenna!
I liked Thief's Gamble enormously and this book is even better. The story picks up much where the first left off but 'first-person' point of view this time comes from Ryshad who only came into the first novel half-way through. Livak the thief has a less central role but the whole plot moves along very nicely and the pattern of relationships remains the same. More 'historical' detail is filled in about the alternative magic and the plot leave sufficient questions to keep you eagerly anticipating Book three. Again there are some familiar themes from other novels but the whole is much greater that the sum of it's parts and stands up to comparison with some of the great Fantasy series. More please and soon!

Fantastic story-telling, but...
But perhaps the ending was a little rushed. I relished Ryshad's experiences, and marvelled at the world McKenna has built and displays with consummate skill. However, the last chapter seemed to speed by, wrapping up the loose ends in a flurry of activity that left me reeling (and not in an entirely good way). Maybe it was the shift in place that gave me this impression.

However, this is a fantastic book, easily as good as anything I've picked up this year, and better than most. The sense of humour and complete lack of melodrama in McKenna's work is so refreshing. I look forward to more, and recommend this series to anyone looking for good fantasy.

A Fitting Followup To Her First Book, The Story gets Better
I recommanded the authors first book (Thief's Gamble) and gave it a five stars review. This book is even better, in my opinion. The story is dense and gripping, the picture of the history of her world gains much in this book. I hope, this is not the end to this saga; I would love to read much more from Mrs.McKenna! The characters from the first book are here again. The story centers now around the Swordsman Ryshad, but the main plot is a continuation from the first book. If you liked the first book you should read this one!