Books

Books : reviews

Janny Wurts.
To Ride Hell's Chasm.
Grafton. 1982

Janny Wurts.
The Curse of the Mistwraith.
Voyager. 1993

They are half-brothers, divided by the vicious throes of a blood feud – Lysaer, a prince raised as heir to a crown, and Arithon, brought up by mages. One bears the gift of the power of light and the other, command of darkness. Exiled to a world not their own, the pair must find common ground to defeat the Mistwraith that has banished the sun.

Yet there is more at stake than one battle with the Mistwraith – as the sorcerers of the Fellowship of Seven know well. For between them the half-brothers hold the balance of the world, its harmony and its future, in their hands.

Janny Wurts.
Fugitive Prince.
Voyager. 1997

The schism began with two half-brothers empowered to subdue a Mistwraith. Its vengeance in defeat cursed them to lifelong enmity, locking their gifts of light and shadow in perpetual conflict. Each believes absolutely in his cause – and loathes the other for opposing it…

Lysaer, Prince of the Light – a charismatic leader sworn to set humanity free from sorcerous oppression. He claims divine power to safeguard his people from an enemy he is convinced will destroy them.

Arithon, Master of Shadow – a trained mage who wishes for nothing but to defuse war, and search out the vanished old races who held the key to restore the world’s shattered peace.

When Koriani enchantresses join forces with Lysaer, new intrigues upset Arithon’s hard-won autonomy. Their ageing Prime Matriarch wants him taken captive, no matter the means or the cost, as a bargaining chip to break a deadlocked rivalry with the Fellowship Sorcerers. So faction is once more set against faction, heart against heart, and the scene is set for an explosive recurrence of war.