The Cloudmages fantasy saga continues... DAW continues the "vividly depicted" (Publishers Weekly) epic series that began with Holder of Lightning. Mage of Clouds: The Cloudmages #2 opens 17 years after the end of Holder of Lightning. Jenna MacEagan has been Banrión since the end of the devastating war with the other Tuatha, and an uneasy peace has held. But now Jenna's daughter Meriel is about to become a pawn in their enemy's bid for power. In Heir of Stone: The Cloudmages #3, set a generation after Mage of Clouds, the oldest of Meriel's children, Sevei and her twin brother Kayne, have reached adulthood. But their world is about to be turned upside down when all of their widely scattered family are simultaneously attacked.From Publishers WeeklyThe grandchildren of Jenna Aoire, who first learned to wield the power of the star stones in 2002's Holder of Lightning, face multiple challenges in the pseudonymous Farrell's dense, literate third volume in his Cloudmages saga (after 2004's Mage of Clouds), set in the Tuatha, a land much like medieval Ireland. Sevei is learning to become a cloudmage while her twin brother, Kayne, is off on a military campaign against the invading Arruk, who have captured their youngest brother, Ennis. Meanwhile, Doyle Mac Ard, Jenna's half-brother, renews his campaign of treachery against his kin. The author does such a good job of depicting Doyle, who illustrates the psychological costs of the classic Celtic feud mentality, that he almost takes over the novel. But there are plenty of other memorable characters, and readers will be grateful for the extensive appendixes, which include a cast list, a glossary and a brief history. While the pace can be leisurely at times, Farrell continues to shine as one of the strongest voices in the Celtic fantasy subgenre. FYI:Farrell is the pseudonym of Stephen Leigh. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistStarred Review The third Cloudmages novel opens amid turmoil and rumors of war. Openly resentful of Banrion Jenna, first holder of the powerful cloch (magical stone), Lamh Shabhala, the royalty of the other Tuathas plot to bring down her and her heirs and claim the stone. Outsiders also threaten in the form of the Arruk, animal-like sentient beings striving to conquer humanity and learn the greater magics. The twins Sevei and Kayne, eldest children of Jenna's daughter, the beloved healer Meriel, are away from home, Sevei training with the Cloudmages, and Kayne with his father's campaign to slow the Arruk. Then the brothers' world is devastated by Meriel's murder, their specially gifted seven-year-old brother Ennis' kidnapping, and, later, Jenna's killing, too, which leaves Sevei a totally unprepared new holder of Lamh Shabhala. Separated and their family disrupted, each twin has no one to trust about him and must cultivate the inner strength to deal with the perils he faces. Farrell's smashing series outdoes itself with each new volume. This one constitutes a wonderful tale of transformations, personal for Sevei and Kayne, global for the evolving consciousness of two species in conflict. Good enough to be cast in gold. Paula LuedtkeCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The Cloudmages fantasy saga continues...DAW continues the "vividly depicted" (Publishers Weekly) epic series that began with Holder of Lightning. Mage of Clouds: The Cloudmages #2 opens 17 years after the end of Holder of Lightning. Jenna MacEagan has been Banrión since the end of the devastating war with the other Tuatha, and an uneasy peace has held. But now Jenna's daughter Meriel is about to become a pawn in their enemy's bid for power.From Publishers WeeklyIn Farrell's second richly imagined Cloudmages fantasy (after 2003's Holder of Lightning), the younger generation takes center stage. It's been almost 20 years since the mage-lights returned to the sky and Meriel MacEagan's mam, Jenna, found Lamh Shabhala, the mage-stone that reawakened the other clochs. With it, Jenna has become the Banrion of Inish Thuaidh and has managed to form an uneasy truce with the other Tuathaan. But the old Rí Ard is dying, and his successors - Jenna's half brother Doyle Mac Ard and the Ri Ard's daughter Edana - are more than willing to reopen the war with the Inishlanders. And while Lamh Shabhla and its holder may be too powerful to attack directly, her family is not. The author deftly manages Meriel's journey from the sheltered and innocent Banrion's daughter of the book's opening chapters to the grounded and powerful woman she will become - and from hostage to healer. Intriguing, fully developed characters abound. This entry can only enhance Farrell's reputation as one of the rising stars of Celtic fantasy.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistNo longer the young, untried girl who stumbled upon Lamh Shabhala, most powerful of the stones that gather the power of the mage lights, Jenna the First Holder has been Banrion, too, since the last, devastating war among the lords and their holders, but that is about to change. The old Ri Ard is weak, possibly dying, and Doyle, Jenna's half brother, is set on obtaining Lamh Shabhala and will spare nothing --not even the life of his niece Meriel, Jenna's daughter --to get it. So Meriel is sent to the Order at Innishfern to be trained to assume Jenna's first-holder duties. Meriel doesn't want the power or responsibility of Lamh Shabhala, however, for she is at heart a healer. In no time at all, Meriel becomes the pawn in a deadly tug-of-war between her mother and her uncle, and the peace she desperately longs for, for herself and her land, seems to be out of reach. A wonderful continuation of the Cloudmages series, begun in Holder of Lightning * [BKL Ja 1 & 15 03]. Paula LuedtkeCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved*

The major debut that introduced readers to a fantasy tour-de-force- now in paperback! Seventeen-year-old Jenna had led a peaceful life, herding sheep and tending crops, until the night she picked up a small but strangely alluring stone that would change her entire future. For what she held in her hand was Lámh Shábhála, the master stone of legend which could reawaken all the other stones of power and bring magic back to the world. And there were many among the nobility who would risk anything, including murder, to claim Lámh Shábhála for themselves.From Publishers WeeklyThe pseudonymous Farrell's formidably long and richly detailed fantasy debut launches a new series that's sure to delight fans of Celtic fiction. A magic talisman that holds the fate of the world falls out of the sky onto the tale's na‹ve, 17-year-old heroine, Jenna Aoire, one night while she's herding sheep on Knobtop Hill with her dog outside the village of Ballintubber. The pebble-sized object, which turns out to be the Cloudmages' master spell-stone, the L mh Sh bh la, soon leads to trouble for Jenna and her mother, who must flee for their lives from their enraged neighbors. They come under the protection of the House of Mac Ard, but treacherous lords who covet the spell-stone ensure no rest for the weary refugees. In this thinly disguised medieval Ireland, every man's hand can be turned against every other's (and women aren't backward in the fight, either), particularly when the stakes are as high as they are here. Much intrigue involving a multitude of mostly well-drawn characters and little bloodshed make for a relatively leisurely plot by the standards of this subgenre. Powerful scenes of magic-wielding and the vividly depicted Celtic society, though, should hook persistent readers, who will be glad for the glossary of character and place names, a guide to the Daoine calender, a list of the holders of the L mh Sh bh la and more at the end of this challenging book. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistBringing home the sheep one evening, Jenna idly picks up a stone that feels good in her hand. She pockets it, and her life is never the same thereafter. The stone is Lamh Shabhala, a cloch na thintri that gathers and holds the mage-lights from the sky. Indeed, it is the master such stone, capable of waking the others, and by choosing Jenna, it makes her First Holder. Although that is a painful, disfiguring, emotionally challenging responsibility she doesn't particularly want, many others whose motives are entirely self-serving do. Already, other cloch are waking, and since, throughout history, the stones have been used as instruments of war and destruction, their holders intend to battle for all the power they can grab. Yet previous holders, who live on in Lamh Shabhala, want an era of peace and prosperity to begin with Jenna. Is she strong enough to rise to the occasion? Besides great, fast-paced fun, full of politicking and betrayal, Farrell's tale is a tragic love story with a surprisingly satisfying ending. Paula LuedtkeCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

DESCRIPTIONThe last chapter in the epic "richly imagined world (New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin)" of The Nessantico CycleKraljica Allesandra sits on the Sun Throne of a much-diminished Holdings empire, while her son Jan rules the rival Coalition of Firenzcia. The schism between them threatens to tear apart the realm when they need solidarity the most. Facing powerful threats, from the rising influence of the Numetodo sect to the fundamentalist preacher Nico Morel-as well as the army of Tehuantin from across the sea- Allesandra and Jan must each find a pathway to survival for themselves and their people.