Books

Books : reviews

Rosemary Kirstein.
The Steerswoman's Road.
Del Rey. 2003

Rosemary Kirstein.
The Steerswoman.
1989


Rosemary Kirstein.
The Outskirter's Secret.
1992


Rosemary Kirstein.
The Lost Steersman.
Del Rey. 2003

How do you find a person you have never seen or have never heard described? And what if the consequences of not finding him are too terrible to imagine?

The steerswoman Rowan has learned that Slado, a mysterious wizard, has secretly been working spells of incredible power. Both the Inner Lands and the Outskirts are now threatened by his Magic—and before the destruction becomes too great to reverse, Rowan must find Slado so that he can be stopped. But how does one stop the most powerful man in the world?

In the seaside town of Alemeth, the Annex holds centuries of steerswomen’s journals. They may contain clues to Slado’s location, but combing through them would take more time than Rowan has to spend. Then she encounters a lost friend: Janus, one of the few rare steersmen. But Janus quit the order without explanation. Now the bright, beloved companion of Rowan’s student days has become a man dominated by dark moods and even darker secrets.

When sleepy Alemeth transforms into a place of chaos, terror, and sudden death, Rowan wonders if all the secrets are connected. The shocking answer will change the steerswoman—and her world—forever…

Rosemary Kirstein.
The Language of Power.
Del Rey. 2004

The steerswomen were seekers, collectors of knowledge, and whatever they learned was free for the asking. The wizards also had knowledge—the knowledge to command nature itself—but they jealously guarded their dark wisdom. The two groups have been at odds for centuries: They do not agree, they do not converse, they do not associate.

Now the steerswoman Rowan has uncovered evidence that the master wizard, Slado, is conjuring dangerous spells in shadow, devastating the distant lands called the Outskirts and changing the course of the world. Rowan has no choice: Slado must be stopped … if he can even be found.

Following a dubious clue, Rowan and her friend Bel, an Outskirter, have come to the city of Donner, seeking answers from the past for a danger in the present. But the secrets go deeper than Rowan had ever imagined, compelling her to wonder: What if all this time she has been asking the wrong questions?