The Door Into Shadow

"Good strong stuff with the right light touch." --Terry Pratchett In the Middle Kingdoms, the royal magics are failing. The dread Reaver armies threaten the southern passes, and behind them moves the eternal malice of the Shadow, sworn to destroy all it can of the Goddess's creation -- especially the re-established realms of humankind. One man stands between the Shadow and its prey: Freelorn Ferrant's son, called the Lion's Child, exiled prince of Arlen. His companions are a strange crew -- from Sunspark, a fire elemental who's trying hard to understand humankind without burning everyone to cinders in the process, to Eftgan, housewife, mother of three, and warrior Queen of Darthen. And there are also the keepers of the blue Flame of Power: Herewiss, the first man in centuries to master the Fire, and wielder of the great sword Khávrinen, and Segnbora, a warrior and sorceress whose power is locked in her terrible past, and who speaks with the tongue of dragons. Together they will face the nameless terrors of Glasscastle, where sorrow walks with madness. They will scale the awesome heights of the Bluepeaks in search of a kingdom's salvation. And they will make the first moves in the apocalyptic war that will set the true king on the throne... or see their world destroyed. The Door Into Shadow is the second volume in a series that has become a cult classic of fantasy for its unique take on sword and sorcery and its unforgettable characters.