The Beholden
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- ¥1,200
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- ¥1,200
発行者による作品情報
“An atmospheric tale of two sisters, each as formidable in her own way as the gods they must battle, The Beholden is a story to lose yourself in. Clarke’s intricately-designed world of rogue magics and unique powers is a character all its own.” —Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches
Two sisters, a pregnant aristocrat and a scholar-magician, find themselves at the center of a conflict between the immortal being Decay and the Emperor himself . . .
Orphaned as young women, Celestia and Izara De Malena find themselves land rich but destitute, with only a failing rainforest acreage, Celestia’s perfect manners, and Izara’s nascent magic to their aristocratic names. With the last of their money running out, they enact a dangerous plan—using a spell she doesn’t fully understand, Izara summons the Lady of the Seraphine and demands a favor: a husband for Celestia, one rich enough to enable the De Malena sisters to keep their land. But a favor from the river goddess always comes at a cost...
Now, five years later, rumors of war and disease are spreading, Celestia’s husband has been called away on a secret mission for the Emperor, and the Lady of the Seraphine is back to collect her due. Izara will be forced to leave the academy where she has been studying to become a mage; Celestia will be pulled from her now-flourishing farm while newly pregnant with her first child. Together, they must repay their debt to the Lady—embarking on a mission that will put them on a collision course with Celestia’s husband, the Emperor, and a god even more powerful than the Lady of the Seraphine.
Gorgeous, compelling, and utterly captivating, The Beholden follows Celestia and Izara as they journey from the lush rainforest to a frozen desert on an impossible quest to find a god who doesn’t want to be found and prevent the end of the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two sisters strike a deal with a river goddess in this lush but slow-moving fantasy from Clarke (Forget This Ever Happened). Orphaned sisters Celestia and Izara De Malena's fortunes are dwindling, leaving them desperate to save their failing rainforest acreage. Izara summons the Lady of the Seraphine to make a bargain: a husband for Celestia with enough money to save the sisters' land and pay for Izara to study magic in exchange for an unknown favor to be paid to the Lady at some point in the future. Five years later, with rumors of war on the horizon and a mysterious disease sweeping the land, the Lady calls in this favor, sending Celestia, now pregnant, and Izara on a perilous journey to seek a reclusive yet powerful mage while the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Clarke's writing shines in rich descriptions of the jungle setting and the complex dynamic between the sisters, but the plot-driven adventure moves at a snail's pace, weighed down with excessive expositional worldbuilding. Meanwhile, the nature-based magic system is fascinating, but feels underexplored. The lovely prose and transportive, atmospheric scene-setting may be enough to grab some readers, but others will struggle.
