Year of the Reaper
A rich and captivating YA standalone fantasy
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- €0.99
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- €0.99
Publisher Description
The past never forgets . . .
'I love the magic Lucier weaves through this dark yet hopeful tale. I devoured it in one sitting!' Kristin Cashore, author of the New York Times bestselling Graceling Realm books
Three years ago, Lord Cassia disappeared in the midst of war, on a mission entrusted to him by the king. Since then, a devastating plague has swept the land, leaving countless dead and the kingdom forever altered.
Having survived a rotting prison cell and a merciless illness, Cas, now eighteen, wants only to return to his home in the mountains and forget past horrors. But home is not what he remembers. His castle has become a refuge for the royal court. And they have brought their enemies with them.
When an assassin targets those closest to the queen, Cas is drawn into a search for a killer... one that leads him to form an unexpected bond with a brilliant young historian named Lena. Cas and Lena soon realize that who is behind the attacks is far less important than why. They must look to the past, following the trail of a terrible secret - one that could threaten the kingdom's newfound peace and plunge it back into war.
'A beautifully crafted novel containing everything I love in an epic fantasy: complex characters and relationships, excellent worldbuilding, and a compelling story full of twists and turns. The central characters, with their strengths and flaws, feel entirely real' Juliet Marillier, author of the Blackthorn & Grim and Warrior Bards series
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Themes of loss, sorrow, and moral conflict, balanced by a delicate and emotionally mature romance, suffuse Lucier's (the Tower of Winds series) novel set in a time of plague. Three years before the book's start, Oliveran nobleman Lord Cassia was kidnapped by enemy forces from Brisa and kept as an indentured laborer until a virulent pestilence presented an opportunity for escape. Now 18 and possessed of the ability to see ghosts, Cas has returned home to Palmerin, only to be greeted by the news that the plague has driven the Oliveran royal family—its Brisan queen and Oliveran King, whose union ended 50 years of war—to Cas's keep. Though many welcome the lord they long thought dead, whose first act is to rescue the young prince's life, Cas soon learns that not everyone is thrilled at his return, and that the royal family's lives are in danger from a lurking assassin. Assisted by a historian-in-training named Lena, the king's sister, Cas digs into the killer's identity and works to navigate whirling court intrigue that threatens to plunge his kingdom into war. The gripping narrative glides along via Lucier's spare, deftly employed prose style, while Cas's fiercely affectionate relationship with his brother Ventillas lends the plot particular warmth, deepening its moving and thought-provoking depictions of variously traumatized characters, many with "bronze" and "golden" skin. Ages 12–up.
