Ironfoot
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
Medieval magic, murder, and mayhem!
It is 1164, and for a hundred years England has been ruled by the Normans. A young Saxon boy named Durwin, crippled by a childhood accident, had caught the eye of a Norman sage teaching at a rural school of magic. Realizing that the boy had promise, Durwin was made stable boy, and eventually allowed to attend classes.
Now twenty, Durwin is proficient enough that he is assigned to teach, but the other sages refuse to promote him and he is hassled by the Norman juniors for his disability. But those troubles turn out to be the least of his worries when he manages to corrects errors in an ancient corrupted spell, which promptly prophesies murder.
Sure enough, word soon reaches the school that one of the local count’s house sage has died, perhaps slain by black magic. Durwin is whisked away to the family’s castle, only to find that one death was only the beginning. The young sage quickly learns of a dizzying plot to assassinate King Henry. Dropped into the middle of the complex politics of England’s royal courts, can Durwin stop them in time?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Prolific fantasist Duncan (the Ivor of Glenbroch series) opens the Enchanter General series with an intricate historical and magical mystery. Diligent Saxon Durwin is humble under the oppression of the ruling Normans in 1164 England. He's known as Ironfoot because he wears a boot with a raised platform after a horse-riding accident in childhood crushed his leg. Norman sorcerer Sage Guy Delany took him in and trained him in the magical arts. Now 20, Durwin is called to investigate the poisoning of Sage Archibald de la Mare, the lecherous sorcerer of hard-nosed Count Richard of Barton. Archibald's death triggered a spell summoning Richard's brother, Sage Rolf de Mandeville, who was also poisoned on his arrival home. The plentiful suspects include Richard; widowed Lady Matilda, the count's cynical daughter; stern steward Bertrand du Bois; ambitious Father Randolph, who views sages as devilish; taciturn wine bottler Wacian; Richard's marshal, Sir Hugh Fiennes; and jester Scur, who perhaps involuntarily speaks in riddles. Enjoyable characters, a detailed setting, and atmospheric adventure intertwine in this multilevel mystery. Durwin is a congenial and persistent investigator, and readers will look forward to his future adventures.
