Bargains! PROMOTIONS
Dr Simon Morden is a bona fide rocket scientist, having degrees in geology and planetary geophysics, and is one of the few people who can truthfully claim to have held a chunk of Mars in his hands. Simon Morden lives in Gateshead with a fierce lawyer, two unruly children and a couple of miniature panthers.
Morden has a natural talent for a plot that keeps the reader guessing GUARDIAN Science fiction author Morden (the Petrovitch Trilogy) makes a masterful foray into an alternate universe where, a thousand years after the fall of Rome, Europe is divided into numerous petty kingdoms and magic is a tool and a weapon. The cunning Order of hexmasters - whose enchantments create bridges, power cities, underpin commerce, and annihilate entire armies - is the ruthless power behind the throne in the German palatinate of Carinthia. When the magic abruptly stops, enemies amass armies at Carinthia's borders and mobs take over its streets. Under-librarian Frederik Thaler and illiterate huntmaster Peter Buber are both certain that the library holds the kingdom's salvation. Capricious adept Nikoleta Agana may be the last remaining hexmaster. Twelve-year-old prince Felix is thrust onto the throne after his father's death in battle. Willful, shamefully unmarried Sophia Morgenstern is determined to protect her fellow Jews from terror-fueled pogroms. An engrossing rollercoaster of a plot winds up with a solidly satisfying climax that leaves the reader craving more. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Morden, against a gritty, utterly convincing backdrop, anticipates every consequence and wrings out surprise after surprise ... An enthralling read for aficionados of intelligent, impeccably rendered fantasy KIRKUS REVIEWS
