Ill-Made Mute
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- € 4,99
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Book I in the 'Bitterbynde' trilogy, and a landmark debut in the realm of Fantasy writing.In a world where creatures of legend haunt countryside and forest, to be caught outside after dark means almost certain death, so the inhabitants of Isse Tower are amazed when a mute, starving foundling is discovered outside their gates. With no recollection of either its name or past, the child comes to realize that the only hope of happiness lies with a wise woman residing in distant Caermelor. But to get there, the newly named Imrhien must survive a wilderness of endless danger. Lost and pursued by unhuman wights, Imrhien is eventually saved by Thorn, a mysterious and handsome ranger, but unknown to them both a dark force has summoned the Unseelie, and malignant hordes amass in the night...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The world of Erith, a strange, wild land filled with humans and fey creatures called wights, has its charms, but unfortunately a lack of underlying depth weakens this first novel from Australian Dart-Thornton. To Erith comes a poor unidentified soul who cannot speak and has lost all sense of self, including all memories of a past. This creature without a life has also become shunned by all after being horribly disfigured by an encounter with a poisonous plant. As the plot slowly, disjointedly spins out, the creature acquires a name Imrhien and a new identity as a girl. Her story is full of little adventures and unrelated incidents, but the author provides almost no foreshadowing or any real idea why Imrhien has lost her voice and her looks. The girl's travels, which carry her from one end of Erith to the other, include encounters with wights, which can be "seelie" (mostly not harmful) and "unseelie" (evil), and with Sianadh, a friendly man who gives her not only her name but the chance to seek pirate treasure. Later Imrhien and Sianadh's niece try to find Maeve One-Eye, a carlin who might help her recover her memory. Nasty folk try to thwart her, but their motives are never explained. Hopefully future installments will supply more background, but this initial volume makes a decidedly shallow start.
