Springwar
A Tale of Eron
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
From the author of Bloodwinter comes the continuation of that epic tale, as two rival kingdoms clash while heroes, heroines, and rogues on both sides-and no side-vie for control of a world-altering magic more powerful than anyone's wildest imaginings.
Springwar
As the realm of Eron sits frozen in the grip of winter, two men struggle through the snow-clogged Wild toward the citadel of their king: the arrogant goldsmith Eddyn, haunted by his past crimes, and his bitter rival, Avall, anxious to increase the power of his clan. Each man brings news of a magical gem discovered in the northern mines.
Meanwhile, Avall's twin sister, Merryn, and her lover, exiled prince Kraxxi, have been captured by Kraxxi's outraged father. As Ixti's king readies his first assault in a devastating war against an unsuspecting Eron, he will force Merryn and Kraxxi to terrible betrayals that will bring Eron's fall ever nearer. As the armies of Ixti crash across the border, Avall and Eddyn must seek their destinies. For each knows the power of the magical gem and can use it for unbelievable good-or unimaginable evil.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Second to Bloodwinter in Dietz's Tale of Eron series, this bulked-up and lumbering fantasy quest traces two coming-of-age journeys to the citadel of King Gynn of Eron, realm of scholar-artists. All of Dietz's principals are frozen fast in near-terminal adolescent angst. Hero Avall, a gifted noble smith, slogs through the frozen Wild, paralleling the course of antihero Eddyn, a flawed renegade genius, thief and murderer, ravager of Avall's artistic masterpiece and rapist of Strynn, Avall's wife. Eron is threatened by barbarous King Barrax of Ixti to the south; to defend their land, Avall and his comrades must learn to wield newly discovered gems with mysterious and frightening powers. An identifying list would help readers to untangle Dietz's mass of stereotypic secondary figures, writhing in the grasp of his wordy attempts to flesh out his several topics: the necessity of war, like a controlled forest burn, to renew society; a Protestant-like religious crusade to overthrow a domineering priesthood; and the power of the creative human mind to change the world. Dietz tries gamely to present a convincing fictional world, but scenes of gruesome violence and unusual sexual groupings may turn off the queasy. Clearly a transitional stage in the saga, this narrative also tends to lose traction and get stuck in inter- and intra-clan political machinations difficult to unravel without knowledge of the previous volume.
