The Other Lands
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- €2.99
Publisher Description
The apocalyptic struggle against the Mein has ended. A victorious Corinn Akaran reigns over the Acacian Empire of the Known World. Bolstered by her mastery of the sorcerous powers contained in the Book of Elenet, she rules with an iron hand. And rebuilding a war-weary empire is not easy. Disturbing news reaches her court from the mysterious Other Lands and Corinn dispatches her brother, Dariel, as her emissary across the uncharted seas of the Grey Slopes. From the moment he sets foot on that distant continent, this former brigand is caught up in a web of ancient rivalries, resentments, intrigue and burgeoning treachery. His arrival ignites a firestorm that once more threatens the Known World with invasion - one that will surely dwarf anything his homeland had yet faced. It seems the wheel turns again, and a new cycle of world-shattering and shaping events is about to begin...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The power and originality of Durham's impressive fantasy debut, 2007's Acacia: The War with the Mein, isn't quite matched by this sequel, though it still features intelligent, well-crafted prose and complex characters. After a political assassination led to the overthrow of the Acacian Empire, the murdered king's children were split up and found very different destinies. The focus here is on the oldest, Corinn, now queen. She is a morally ambiguous figure, fiercely guarding her secrets of magic, willing to drug her subjects to stifle dissent and sacrifice her own siblings for power. Her depiction is the book's strength, as many of the other plot elements betrayals, close brushes with death, terrifying monsters are standard fare. Fans will still look for book three, but with diminished enthusiasm.
