- Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
- Publisher: DAW (Jan 6 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0756401526
- ISBN-13: 978-0756401528
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.9 x 3.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #971,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The pseudonymous Farrell's formidably long and richly detailed fantasy debut launches a new series that's sure to delight fans of Celtic fiction. A magic talisman that holds the fate of the world falls out of the sky onto the tale's na‹ve, 17-year-old heroine, Jenna Aoire, one night while she's herding sheep on Knobtop Hill with her dog outside the village of Ballintubber. The pebble-sized object, which turns out to be the Cloudmages' master spell-stone, the L mh Sh bh la, soon leads to trouble for Jenna and her mother, who must flee for their lives from their enraged neighbors. They come under the protection of the House of Mac Ard, but treacherous lords who covet the spell-stone ensure no rest for the weary refugees. In this thinly disguised medieval Ireland, every man's hand can be turned against every other's (and women aren't backward in the fight, either), particularly when the stakes are as high as they are here. Much intrigue involving a multitude of mostly well-drawn characters and little bloodshed make for a relatively leisurely plot by the standards of this subgenre. Powerful scenes of magic-wielding and the vividly depicted Celtic society, though, should hook persistent readers, who will be glad for the glossary of character and place names, a guide to the Daoine calender, a list of the holders of the L mh Sh bh la and more at the end of this challenging book.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Bringing home the sheep one evening, Jenna idly picks up a stone that feels good in her hand. She pockets it, and her life is never the same thereafter. The stone is Lamh Shabhala, a cloch na thintri that gathers and holds the mage-lights from the sky. Indeed, it is the master such stone, capable of waking the others, and by choosing Jenna, it makes her First Holder. Although that is a painful, disfiguring, emotionally challenging responsibility she doesn't particularly want, many others whose motives are entirely self-serving do. Already, other cloch are waking, and since, throughout history, the stones have been used as instruments of war and destruction, their holders intend to battle for all the power they can grab. Yet previous holders, who live on in Lamh Shabhala, want an era of peace and prosperity to begin with Jenna. Is she strong enough to rise to the occasion? Besides great, fast-paced fun, full of politicking and betrayal, Farrell's tale is a tragic love story with a surprisingly satisfying ending. Paula Luedtke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a riveting book!,
By Meghan (Chippewa Falls, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cloudmages #1 Holder Of Lightning (Mass Market Paperback)
I was blown away with this book. The feeling of reality brought out from this fantasy was overwhelming. Holder of Lightning caught my attention and kept it. If you have always been interested in the Irish ways and Celtic times and tradition as I have, you will love this book. This book explodes into a riveting tale of love, lust, and magic. The magic of the mage lights, the love of Coelin, the lust of Mac Ard. Follow Jenna Aoire as she learns of a power that has chosen her and brought on burdens and pain but also gifts and power. Feel her pains and fears, her hopes and joys, as this amazing tale becomes one with you as you read. The powerful strength of the words and feeling in this book will not let you put it down. This is truly a tale to be told.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Just Didn't Work For Me.,
By Beth Withrowhill (Southern Colorado) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Holder Of Lightning (Hardcover)
Picked up the book at the library - the fantastic cover art and exerpt intrigued me at the bookstore, but I don't have the cash to purchase every book that I see that interests me on the shelves =) Boy, am I glad that I didn't waste the money.The storyline is interesting - the idea that magics stem from what, to me, sounded like a more randomized aurora borealis; the young girl caught up in it all without any desire to be in the middle... But the characters were awful. At the very best they were annoying, and more often they just didn't evoke any interest whatsoever. The main character, Jenna, usually came across as a drug-addicted, gullible spoiled brat. The "villains" didn't ever make much sense - as someone else has mentioned, *why* was the stone worth going to war for? - and the other "good" guys were incredibly predictable in their constant betrayals. Topped off by the wretched scene at the end... Well, if the library gets the sequel in I may pick it up in hopes that the next generation of characters are a little bit more interesting - the whole concept really is very good - but I definitely won't be running out to put down money for it.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top Echelon,
By Martin Flaherty (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cloudmages #1 Holder Of Lightning (Mass Market Paperback)
I would agree that this book belongs in the upper quadrant of fantasy. In fact, I believe it to be in the top echelon. But I have to shake my head at some of the comments made by a previous reviewer, who commented that the world was "not new." Like most of the reviewers, I found the world in this book to be quite finely drawn and incredibly detailed with a rich, textured background. Yes, several of the creatures are familiar -- this is, after all, a Celtic-based fantasy and I'd be surprised and perhaps a bit disappointed if the creatures of that mythology didn't appear here. But there are also new sights and marvels aplenty: the siog mist, the stone-beings called the Creanach, and so on.And the characters... These are frankly among the best, most well-drawn and believable characters I've had the pleasure to encounter in fantasy. Farrell's people are complicated, with genuine qualities, flaws, and motivations. Even the antagonists are understandable and believable -- none of them evil, but driven by motivations and agendas that place them at odds with Jenna and those around her. HOLDER OF LIGHTING is a true and rich delight. A feast. Buy it, read it, then do as I've done and buy the next book. This is the beginning of a classic series and a bright talent.
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