In Rhapsody, a fellowship was forged-- three companions who, through great adversity, became a force to be reckoned with: Rhapsody the Singer; Achmed the assassin-king; and Grunthor, the giant Sergeant-Major. Prophecy continues their powerful epic. Driven by a prophetic vision, Rhapsody races to rescue a religious leader while Achmed and Grunthor seek the F'dor-- an ancient and powerful demon. These companions may be destined to fulfill The Prophecy of the Three, but their time is running short. They must find their elusive enemy before his darkness consumes them all.
**
Amazon.com Review
Three cheers for Elizabeth Haydon! One great book (Rhapsody: Child of Blood) might be a fluke. But its sequel, Prophecy: Child of Earth, keeps right on developing great characters in a believable fantasy world without sacrificing the momentum of a terrific story. Best of all, Haydon promises to bring the current adventure to a conclusion in the next book, so no need to fear TNS (the never-ending saga).
Prophecy continues the stories of Rhapsody, the Namer who uses song, herb-lore, and affinities with fire and starlight to heal and protect, and her adoptive family: Achmed the Snake, an obnoxious former assassin and King of the savage Firbolg race, and Grunthor, his huge, cheerfully cannibalistic sidekick. Rhapsody travels in the company of the mysterious Ashe, who becomes much less mysterious as the story progresses. She meets a dragon, trains with a Lirin swordmistress who once carried Rhapsody's fiery sword, Daystar Clarion, and races to prevent the assassination of the Patriarch of Sepulvarta. Meanwhile, Achmed and Grunthor discover secrets of their mountain stronghold and learn more of their own powers. Together they repel renewed attacks by the F'dor, a demon seeking apocalyptic destruction. But they have not yet identified the demon's host or disarmed all of its agents, and time is running out.
Fans of epic fantasy will find Haydon a worthy successor to Tolkien, ranking with Robin Hobb and Guy Gavriel Kay. Just don't start reading too late in the day--once you've begun, you won't want to stop. --Nona Vero
From Publishers Weekly
A sequel to Haydon's acclaimed first novel, Rhapsody, this is a novel of modest virtues. Again following the adventures of Rhapsody (the Cymrian Namer) and her friends King Achmed of the Firbolg and the giant Grunthor, the narrative recounts their battles with the demonic F'dor. Although Grunthor is the Child of Earth to whom the title refers, most of the action revolves around Ashe, half of whose soul has been torn away by the F'dor and used to create the monstrous Rakshas. The Rakshas (which, to make things worse, looks exactly like Ashe) is going about killing innocent people and plotting to destabilize the power of local governments. After Rhapsody falls in love with Ashe, she sets out (with the help of Achmed and Grunthor) to kill the Rakshas and to end the F'dor's hold over Ashe. This will clear the way for Ashe to reunite the warring Cymrian factions by becoming Lord Cymrian. As they fight their way to this conclusion, Haydon's three heroes must also protect the Sleeping Child, a mystical creature who's likewise threatened by the F'dorAand Rhapsody must train herself to use her magic sword, which can link her to the element of fire. Although the characters are appealing and Haydon's world intriguing, things there are so complicated that they require an excessive amount of backstoryAexplanations of what happened in the previous volume and in Cymrian history. Although impressive, these explanations tend to appear at inopportune moments and break the adventure's pace. The romance between Ashe and Rhapsody is, however, charming, and the novel has enough magic, good fights and thrilling love scenes to make it a keeper. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Description:
In Rhapsody, a fellowship was forged-- three companions who, through great adversity, became a force to be reckoned with: Rhapsody the Singer; Achmed the assassin-king; and Grunthor, the giant Sergeant-Major. Prophecy continues their powerful epic. Driven by a prophetic vision, Rhapsody races to rescue a religious leader while Achmed and Grunthor seek the F'dor-- an ancient and powerful demon. These companions may be destined to fulfill The Prophecy of the Three, but their time is running short. They must find their elusive enemy before his darkness consumes them all.
**
Amazon.com Review
Three cheers for Elizabeth Haydon! One great book (Rhapsody: Child of Blood) might be a fluke. But its sequel, Prophecy: Child of Earth, keeps right on developing great characters in a believable fantasy world without sacrificing the momentum of a terrific story. Best of all, Haydon promises to bring the current adventure to a conclusion in the next book, so no need to fear TNS (the never-ending saga).
Prophecy continues the stories of Rhapsody, the Namer who uses song, herb-lore, and affinities with fire and starlight to heal and protect, and her adoptive family: Achmed the Snake, an obnoxious former assassin and King of the savage Firbolg race, and Grunthor, his huge, cheerfully cannibalistic sidekick. Rhapsody travels in the company of the mysterious Ashe, who becomes much less mysterious as the story progresses. She meets a dragon, trains with a Lirin swordmistress who once carried Rhapsody's fiery sword, Daystar Clarion, and races to prevent the assassination of the Patriarch of Sepulvarta. Meanwhile, Achmed and Grunthor discover secrets of their mountain stronghold and learn more of their own powers. Together they repel renewed attacks by the F'dor, a demon seeking apocalyptic destruction. But they have not yet identified the demon's host or disarmed all of its agents, and time is running out.
Fans of epic fantasy will find Haydon a worthy successor to Tolkien, ranking with Robin Hobb and Guy Gavriel Kay. Just don't start reading too late in the day--once you've begun, you won't want to stop. --Nona Vero
From Publishers Weekly
A sequel to Haydon's acclaimed first novel, Rhapsody, this is a novel of modest virtues. Again following the adventures of Rhapsody (the Cymrian Namer) and her friends King Achmed of the Firbolg and the giant Grunthor, the narrative recounts their battles with the demonic F'dor. Although Grunthor is the Child of Earth to whom the title refers, most of the action revolves around Ashe, half of whose soul has been torn away by the F'dor and used to create the monstrous Rakshas. The Rakshas (which, to make things worse, looks exactly like Ashe) is going about killing innocent people and plotting to destabilize the power of local governments. After Rhapsody falls in love with Ashe, she sets out (with the help of Achmed and Grunthor) to kill the Rakshas and to end the F'dor's hold over Ashe. This will clear the way for Ashe to reunite the warring Cymrian factions by becoming Lord Cymrian. As they fight their way to this conclusion, Haydon's three heroes must also protect the Sleeping Child, a mystical creature who's likewise threatened by the F'dorAand Rhapsody must train herself to use her magic sword, which can link her to the element of fire. Although the characters are appealing and Haydon's world intriguing, things there are so complicated that they require an excessive amount of backstoryAexplanations of what happened in the previous volume and in Cymrian history. Although impressive, these explanations tend to appear at inopportune moments and break the adventure's pace. The romance between Ashe and Rhapsody is, however, charming, and the novel has enough magic, good fights and thrilling love scenes to make it a keeper. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.