From Library Journal
The collaboration of Claremont, a comic-book writer, and film and computer game maker Lucas yielded the best-selling Shadow Moon (Bantam, 1995). This follow-up offers more dragons, magic, and war.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
The considerable vocal talents of Rene Auberjonois once again transport the listener in the sequel to Shadow Moon. The Princess Elora Dannon has spent three years studying and maturing; now she must join her allies as a new war wages in order to save her world from the evil Deceiver. A multitude of fantastic characters, including dragons and brownies, is given voice with grace and imagination by Auberjonois. Accents of Celtic music enhance the other-worldly atmosphere, as does the range of vocal effects: the gravelly menace of the Deceiver, the strength and innocence of the young Elora, and the majesty of the dragons. The third in the series is eagerly awaited. M.A.M. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Book Description
From George Lucas, creator of Star Wars(r) and Indiana Jones, and Chris Claremont, author of the bestselling X-Men adventures, comes the thrilling sequel to Shadow Moon, taking readers deeper into a stunningly original world of magic, myth, and legend. The momentous Ascension of Princess Elora Danan should have brought peace to the Thirteen Realms. Instead, an intense Shadow War rages, spearheaded by the evil Mohdri. He has dispatched his dread Black Rose commando assassins to capture Elora and her sworn protector, Thorn Drumheller. But Mohdri himself is just a facade for a more dangerous entity: the Deceiver. But who--or what--is the Deceiver? And how can Elora, Thorn, and their ragtag band defeat this unspeakable force? The answer lies in a perilous journey to a land undisturbed since the dawn of time. A journey that will end at the unbreachable citadel of the dragon, where a chilling betrayal will change the fate of Elora, Thorn, and the Thirteen Realms forever.



From the Inside Flap
From George Lucas, creator of Star Wars(r) and Indiana Jones, and Chris Claremont, author of the bestselling X-Men adventures, comes the thrilling sequel to Shadow Moon, taking readers deeper into a stunningly original world of magic, myth, and legend.  

The momentous Ascension of Princess Elora Danan should have brought peace to the Thirteen Realms.  Instead, an intense Shadow War rages, spearheaded by the evil Mohdri.  He has dispatched his dread Black Rose commando assassins to capture Elora and her sworn protector, Thorn Drumheller.  But Mohdri himself is just a facade for a more dangerous entity: the Deceiver.  But who--or what--is the Deceiver?  And how can Elora, Thorn, and their ragtag band defeat this unspeakable force?  The answer lies in a perilous journey to a land undisturbed since the dawn of time.  A journey that will end at the unbreachable citadel of the dragon, where a chilling betrayal will change the fate of Elora, Thorn, and the Thirteen Realms forever.  


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
With a grin of purest delight, Elora Danan summoned fire.

It burst from the ground as though she'd simply opened a tap, a tiny geyser of raw incandescence drawn straight from the molten heart of the world itself. In a heartbeat, every aspect of physical sensation within the forge was transformed. Each breath tasted sulfurous on her tongue, the furnace heat baking the air so fiercely that sweat evaporated the instant it formed on her skin. Phosphorescent lichen had been gathered in wall sconces to provide illumination but the fountain' s radiance made them instantly redundant, dominating the modest chamber as the noonday sun would a cloudless summer sky. The room's many shadows had been utterly banished. Instead, the dark face of the chiseled stone was painted now in wild hues of scarlet and gold that never stayed the same from one moment to the next, but moved and changed with such madcap abandon the stone seemed alive. Impressive as those colorations were, they paled in comparison to the appearance of Elora herself, as the fireglow danced across skin the shade of purest polished silver.

She'd spent the better part of a week preparing the kiln for her examination, scrubbing it clean both physically and mystically. She'd gone over her notes until the order and structure of the requisite spells was engraved as deeply on her consciousness as the house sigils were in the mantlestone above the family hearth. She knew what to expect when she began the summoning, but wasn't sure what would actually happen. It was one thing watching, no matter how intently, when Torquil or his apprentices worked their special brand of magic. Another altogether to try it by herself.

She was dressed for work in ironcloth trousers, padded at the knees and tucked into stout-soled moccasin boots that laced to the tops of her calves. A sleeveless cotton undershirt hugged her torso. Over that went a proper shirt of cotton interwoven with wool, against the natural damp and chill of the tunnels, and lastly a tunic of the same battered ironcloth as her trousers, padded at both elbows and shoulders. The tunic hung to her knees, slit up both side seams to the waist to allow her legs total freedom of movement. It was cut big in the body, too, which she found a cause for some annoyance, as it made her appear far heftier than she actually was. She was proud of her physique; she'd worked hard and long burning off the excess pounds that had been a part of her all through childhood and didn't care for any reminders of the way she used to look.

As she crouched before the firespout, her face split in a grin of irrepressible delight. She was determined to fix every aspect of this conjuration in memory, the better to transcribe it later into her journal. The molten rock, she observed, was of a thicker consistency than water, heavier even than oil. Tiny sparks flashed all along its length as the intense heat ignited any stray and wayward scraps of dust in the air that swirled too close. Elora could feel prickles across the small patches of exposed skin and she had to narrow her eyes against the glare, even through the dark glasses the Rock Nelwyns used whenever they channeled lava.

Unexpectedly, and with a small pop, something wrestled its way through the fissure and slithered up the interior of the fountain, to burst into full view at its summit. Elora beheld a figure that, in broadest brush strokes, consisted of a central torso, a pair of arms, a head. No legs that she could see. The lower half of the creature was one with the pillar of molten rock. Its head began as a featureless orb but the longer she stared at it, the more features and definition appeared: eyes where human eyes should be, a nose bisecting the face, a proper mouth above a strong chin. Streams of russet flame poured back from a sharp widow's peak to form a thick single plait that reached all the way down the figure's back until it blended with the molten stream.

Elora thought it was a most attractive creature. She hadn't realized she was looking at a vision of herself.

ANNOTATION

Shadow Dawn continues the triumphant saga of the Shadow War, begun in Shadow Moon, bringing the boundless creativity of George Lucas to the printed page, combined with the sensibility of a master fantasist whose ideas have enthralled millions. 464 pp. Ads in Locus. Online promo. 80,000 print.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It's been three years since Elora Danan's momentous Ascension. But there has been no peace among the Thirteen Realms. Instead, an intense Shadow War rages, spearheaded by the evil Mohdri, leader of the black-clad Thunder Riders. Elora's allies are the Nelwyn sorcerer and her sworn protector, Thorn Drumheller; the brownies Franjean and Rool; the eagles Anele and Bastian; Khory Bannefin, offspring of a demon who inhabits the body of a long-dead woman warrior; and two friends, Ryn Taksemanyin of the seafaring Wyrrn and a charming champion named Duguay Faralorn. Together they flee toward the still-free city-state of Sandeni, pursued by the dreaded Black Rose, commando assassins dispatched by Mohdri. But Mohdri himself is just a facade, his spirit and soul consumed by the mysterious Deceiver. Who - or what - is the Deceiver and what are its evil intentions? How can Thorn protect Elora from a power he barely understands? One thing is certain: prophecy maintains that the Deceiver can accomplish its goal only by capturing the princess...and only the princess can stop it.

SYNOPSIS

In Shadow Moon, the author of The X-Men and the creator of Star Wars introduced us to Elora, a warrior princess determined to stop the apocalyptic plans of the evil Mohdri. Now Claremont and Lucas continue the saga in this sequel that's every bit as exciting as the original. Here, Elora and her ragtag band of beastly warriors seek refuge from Mohdri's commando assassins in Sandeni—a spellbinding city-state that holds the key to the survival not only of Elora but the entire world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal