From Amazon.com
After a wait of more than five years, Judith Tarr delivers the sixth Avaryan Rising novel, the fast-paced and well-written
Tides of Darkness. The sequel to
The Hall of the Mountain King,
The Lady of Han-Gilen,
A Fall of Princes (collected in
Avaryan Rising),
Arrows of the Sun, and
Spear of Heaven,
Tides of Darkness will please both fans and newcomers to Tarr's ambitious, popular, and critically acclaimed fantasy series.
Daros, the handsome young heir to Han-Gilen, is a drunken, womanizing, useless peacock of a prince. But he is also a powerful untrained mage--and a living Gate between worlds. When he opens his Gate and breaks the strictest laws of his world, he glimpses a living darkness that is devouring worlds--and drawing ever closer to his own. Then he is arrested by the Gate-mages.
Daros is sentenced to serve the ex-emperor, the still-youthful mage Estarion. Joining with Estarion's beautiful granddaughter and heir, the powerful mage Merian, they search through other worlds for an explanation of the implacable darkness and a way to oppose it. Then Estarion vanishes on the far side of that malignant shadow--and Daros, seeking him, vanishes as well. --Cynthia Ward
From Publishers Weekly
The latest novel in Tarr's popular Avaryan Chronicles (after Avaryan Rising, 1997) returns readers to a realm of powerful magic, romance and high adventure. As punishment for illegally opening Gates between worlds for his own personal entertainment, Indaros "Daros" Kurelios, feckless heir to the Princedom of Han-Gilen, is exiled by Merian, Lady of the Gates, to the care of her great-grandfather, the Emperor Estarion, creator of the Gate Laws that Daros so blithely ignored. When an evil force that has devastated many other Gate Worlds destroys the Heart of the World (the Gate Mages' home) and sends Estarion to an unknown destination, only Daros can save the day. Success won't be easy, however, and it won't come cheaply. It's a tribute to Tarr's ability that, while the novel ends with enough loose ends to indicate the direction of this continuing series, the book can also stand alone. This is a rousing tale, with all the broad scope, strong characterization and brisk storytelling that has earned Tarr such a loyal following among fantasy readers.fantasy, Devil's Bargain.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
