Synopsis
A man and a woman struggle with demons within and an uneasy political situation without in this work of high fantasy, set in the same milieu as the Hugo award-winning PALADIN OF SOULS and THE CURSE OF CHALION. The imminent death of the Hallow King has thrown the realm into turmoil, exacerbated by the death of his youngest son, Prince Bolesco. The prince was conducting a forbidden religious ritual when Lady Ijada, an unwilling participant in the brutal ceremony, killed him in self-defense. As a result of that ritual, Lady Ijada is possessed by a leopard-spirit. That's a condition understood fairly well by Lord Ingrey, the man chosen to conduct her and the prince's body for burial. Lord Ingrey himself shares his spirit with that of a wolf, forced upon him during a similar ritual. Unfortunately, he also seems to be harboring a spell cast by an unknown party, compelling him to make repeated attempts on Lady Ijada's life.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2005-06-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 470 pages | | Height: | 9.0 in | | Width: | 6.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 27.2 oz |
Publisher's Note
An acclaimed legend in the field of fantasy and science fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold returns to the vivid and perilous world of her previous masterworks, the Hugo Award-winning Paladin of Souls and Hugo and World Fantasy Award-nominated The Curse of Chalion, with an epic tale of devotion and strange destiny. Prince Boleso is dead -- slain by a noblewoman he had intended to defile. Lord Ingrey kin Wolfcliff has been dispatched to the remote castle of the late, exiled, half-mad royal to transport the body to its burial place and the accused killer, the Lady Ijada, to judgment. Ingrey's mission is an ugly and delicate one, for the imminent death of the old Hallow King has placed the crown in play, and the murder of his youngest son threatens to further roil already treacherous political waters. But there is more here than a prince's degenerate lusts and the fatal retribution it engendered. Boleso's dark act, though unfinished, inadvertently bestowed an unwanted mystical "gift" upon proud, brave Ijada that must ultimately mean her doom -- a curse similar to one with which Ingrey himself has been burdened since boyhood. A forbidden spirit now inhabits the soul of Ijada, giving her senses she never wished for and an obligation no one sane would desire. At once psychically linked to the remarkable lady and repelled by what she carries within, Ingrey fears the havoc his own inner beast could wreak while on their journey, as he fights a powerful growing attraction ... and an equally powerful compulsion to kill. The road they travel together is beset with dangers -- and though duty-bound to deliver Ijada to an almost certain execution, Ingrey soon realizes that she is the only one he dares trust. For a malevolent enemy with designs on a troubled kingdom holds Ingrey in his sway -- and without Ijada's aid and love, the haunted lord will never be able to break free and realize the great and terrible destiny bestowed upon him by the gods, the damned, and the dead.
Industry Reviews
"Bujold's ability to sustain a breathless pace of action while preserving a heady sense of verisimilitude in a world of malignant wonders makes this big novel occasionally brilliant--and not a word too long." (starred review)
Publishers Weekly (05/02/2005)
"Ingrey is another of Bujold's magnificently flawed heroes, and the tale she weaves around him with thorny theological and moral problems, is completely mesmerizing....[O]ne of the most compelling books this year." (TOP PICK!)
Romantic Times BOOKclub (06/01/2005)
"[T]ruly compelling reading."
Locus - Carolyn Cushman (03/01/2005)
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