The Bear and the Serpent
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
As the south is in turmoil, an old terror emerges in the north. The Bear and the Serpent is the second book in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s epic fantasy trilogy, Echoes of the Fall, following The Tiger and the Wolf.
‘A classically brilliant fantasy writer’ – Paul Cornell, author of Witches of Lychford
Maniye, child of both Wolf and Tiger clans, has been named Champion of her people. But they're unsure if she is an asset – or a threat. To buy time, she joins a warband of outcasts and heads south. She wants to discover her true place in the world, but finds herself heading into the jaws of a fierce new conflict.
The group are led by Prince Tecuman, battling his twin sister for the throne. Only one can rule, and the threat of civil war hangs overhead. Yet, whoever triumphs will carry a heavy burden. A great doom has been foreseen, set to fall across their whole world. Soon, Maniye finds herself at the heart of a political storm.
Danger is casting a shadow over her old home too, where Loud Thunder and his Bear clan are attempting to unite the northern tribes. An ancient adversary is preparing to strike, putting not only their lands but their very souls at risk. It may be the only thing to end tribal rivalries; neither north nor south will be spared in the terror to come . . .
Readers love The Bear and the Serpent:
‘Just as captivating as The Tiger and the Wolf’
‘I love getting lost in this world’
‘There are so many amazing characters in this series’
‘Cannot wait to get started on the third book’
‘I can't recommend this series enough’
Complete this sweeping coming-of-age fantasy trilogy with The Hyena and the Hawk.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This well-wrought second installment in Tchaikovsky's Echoes of the Fall epic fantasy series (after The Tiger and the Wolf) focuses on two major threats to the realistically magical world his shape-shifting tribes inhabit. Loud Thunder, mightiest warrior of the Bear tribe, follows his dangerous destiny to rally the various quarreling tribes of the north into a united warband capable of battling the reawakening horror, the Plague People, who have destroyed the Seal tribe and are building a lethal foothold on the seashore. In the South, Maniye, a young Wolf-Tiger, and Asmander, champion of the Crocodile Sun River Nation, become enmeshed in a potentially disastrous conflict between twin claimants to the throne, while the enigmatic Serpent priestess Hesprec constantly warns that something vile is approaching, so terrible that it may vanquish both sides. Tchaikovsky's huge cast of brilliantly portrayed characters must learn to heed the wisdom the Serpent has brought from the Oldest Kingdom: that soulless refugees, playing on the pity of their hosts, pose the ultimate threat to the peoples' souls and must be defeated, no matter the cost. (Whether this is intended as a parallel to current political topics in our world is unclear.) Tchaikovsky cannily leaves enough unfinished business to lure fantasy fans through many more emotional struggles and sweeping battles struggles to come.
