The Stone of the Stars: The Dragon Throne, Book I [Paperback]

Canadian author Baird blends an accessible style, typical of her popular young adult novels (The Hidden World; The Dragon's Egg), with a rich mythology in this delightful fantasy for adults, the first of a new series. In the ancient history of the almost excessively Earth-like planet of Mera, the world was ruled by the magic-using Elei. When a rain of meteors destroyed their exquisite civilization, the few survivors clung to two prophecies: one of an evil avatar of the dark god Modrian, and one of the Tryna Lia, a young woman who would use the powerful Star Stone to defend against him. Now, hundreds of years later, the last descendents of the Elei believe they have found the Tryna Lia just in time to defeat a cruel tyrant who proclaims himself favored by Modrian, but only a few people know the Star Stone's location: Ana, an old woman who claims to read minds and wield magic; Damion, a priest of the One God Aan who finds his faith troubled by evidence of strange powers and old gods; and Ailia, a young student who loves fairy tales but has a hard time believing that they can come true. The vowel-heavy Elei names are too easily confused or forgotten, but this is a minor flaw. Baird has produced a real winner, sure to please current fans and appeal to many new ones.
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"Baird has created a stunning fantasy world using Celtic myths and legends, but with her own unique twist."

A fresh, new Canadian author, who is comparable to Marion Zimmer Bradley, debuts a brand new fantasy trilogy for all ages. The quest is on to find the coveted Stone of the Stars on the mystical isle of Trynisia, once a place where humans dwelt side by side with dragons. Four have set off on their journey to reach it-Ailia, a daydreaming bookworm; Damion, a devoted missionary; Jomar, a half-breed soldier-slave; and Lorelyn, quite possibly a prophesied savior, who will one day guide her people ina battle against the Dark God. But can they reach the isle and the Stone of the Stars before the tyrannical God-King Khalazar finds it and uses it to rule the world?

I have loved books ever since I was given my first library card at the age of four. And from the very beginning most of my favorite authors were writers of fantasy: C.S. Lewis, Kenneth Graham, J.M. Barrie, Charles Kingsley, E. Nesbit, Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Madeleine L'Engle, Alan Garner, Susan Cooper, T.H. White, Mary Stewart. Looking back, my childhood seems to have been evenly divided between the suburban homes in which I lived and the lands of Oz and Narnia, Middle-Earth and Neverland in which my mind so frequently sojourned. Perhaps it is not surprising that from an early age I longed to be a writer myself. My surname, Baird, is the Gaelic form of "bard," and since the ancient bards were storytellers this certainly seems appropriate! I published a number of poems when I was twelve years old, and the excitement this gave me helped to launch my career: I have been writing ever since. Today I am the author of numerous books and short stories, for both children and adults, all in the fantasy genre. My books include The Dragon's Egg, a tale for young readers that was inspired by Chinese mythology; White as the Waves, a retelling of the classic Moby Dick using the whale's point of view; a Celtic fantasy novel, The Hidden World, and its prequel The Wolves of Woden; a series for teens, The Willowmere Chronicles; and The Stone of the Stars, the first volume in a trilogy for adults. Apart from writing, my interests are many and extremely eclectic: they include mythology and folklore, English literature, natural science, watercolor painting and classical music.