This fast-moving adventure opens Maggie Furey's second fantasy sequence, "The Shadowleague"; her first was the "Artefacts of Power" tetralogy. The Heart of Myrial is set in a particularly artificial-seeming fantasyland, which proves to be not a world but a technomagical construct, divided into isolated regions by sorcerous barriers of force. Thanks to the machinations of a bad guy who may have good motives, these "curtain walls" are now failing--the first symptoms being clashes between the enclaves' different environments, leading to prolonged descriptions of truly lousy weather. In theory the barriers are guarded by and can be penetrated only by Loremasters of the Shadowleague, a secret inner circle of representatives from this patchwork world's various species: humans, dragons, centaurs, wind-sprites, insectile aliens, and more. In practice the Shadowleague is almost impotent.
Against this complex background, various characters struggle across the landscape through terrible weather. A woman Loremaster and her irrepressibly feisty firedrake companion play leading parts in the large cast (many of whom suffer death or worse). After tortuous regroupings and plot twists centered on a particular city that houses a key magical shrine, the book concludes with a gory invasion of nasties through the holed curtain wall. It reads well enough, and of course there's more to come. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
Three unlikely heroes must penetrate a land of sorcery and secrets to save a world hurtling toward chaos.
From the dazzling imagination of Maggie Furey comes an astonishing new epic of a wondrous world on the brink of collapse... and the daring trio who will risk the deadliest odds to save it.
The world of Myrial is racing toward apocalypse. For aeons, its mysterious Curtain Walls have functioned to separate realm from realm, and race from race, so that each cordoned area remains a sanctuary for its species. But now the miraculous walls that have provided order for so long are disintegrating with disastrous results.
Mingling climates are causing unrelenting rains or deadly droughts, while warlike races are preying mercilessly on the helpless and meek. And the carnage will only grow worse unless a seasoned woman-warrior, a brazen firedrake, and a venerable Dragon with amazing telepathic powers--all trusted members of the Shadowleague--succeed where everyone else has failed. For they must first locate the heart of Myrial, where the secret for undoing this disaster resides. In order to reach their goal, however, they must overcome treachery, intrigue, and evil--and a mysterious figure from the past whose actions threaten to tear the Shadowleague apart.
From the Inside Flap
Three unlikely heroes must penetrate a land of sorcery and secrets to save a world hurtling toward chaos.
From the dazzling imagination of Maggie Furey comes an astonishing new epic of a wondrous world on the brink of collapse... and the daring trio who will risk the deadliest odds to save it.
The world of Myrial is racing toward apocalypse. For aeons, its mysterious Curtain Walls have functioned to separate realm from realm, and race from race, so that each cordoned area remains a sanctuary for its species. But now the miraculous walls that have provided order for so long are disintegrating with disastrous results.
Mingling climates are causing unrelenting rains or deadly droughts, while warlike races are preying mercilessly on the helpless and meek. And the carnage will only grow worse unless a seasoned woman-warrior, a brazen firedrake, and a venerable Dragon with amazing telepathic powers--all trusted members of the Shadowleague--succeed where everyone else has failed. For they must first locate the heart of Myrial, where the secret for undoing this disaster resides. In order to reach their goal, however, they must overcome treachery, intrigue, and evil--and a mysterious figure from the past whose actions threaten to tear the Shadowleague apart.
The Heart Of Myrial FROM THE PUBLISHER
Three unlikely heroes must penetrate a land of sorcery and secrets to save a world hurtling toward chaos.
From the dazzling imagination of Maggie Furey comes an astonishing new epic of a wondrous world on the brink of collapse... and the daring trio who will risk the deadliest odds to save it.
The world of Myrial is racing toward apocalypse. For aeons, its mysterious Curtain Walls have functioned to separate realm from realm, and race from race, so that each cordoned area remains a sanctuary for its species. But now the miraculous walls that have provided order for so long are disintegrating with disastrous results.
Mingling climates are causing unrelenting rains or deadly droughts, while warlike races are preying mercilessly on the helpless and meek. And the carnage will only grow worse unless a seasoned woman-warrior, a brazen firedrake, and a venerable Dragon with amazing telepathic powers—all trusted members of the Shadowleague—succeed where everyone else has failed. For they must first locate the heart of Myrial, where the secret for undoing this disaster resides. In order to reach their goal, however, they must overcome treachery, intrigue, and evil—and a mysterious figure from the past whose actions threaten to tear the Shadowleague apart.
FROM THE CRITICS
VOYA
The world of Myrial is in trouble. The centuriesold protective curtain walls installed by the ancients are failing, the sun has not shined for six months, and the rain has not stopped falling. If floods and famine were not enough, hostile species from other lands are breaking through the weakened barriers to eat the inhabitants. The Shadowleague has called an emergency council to search for a solution. Veldan, a Loremaster, barely recovered from her last adventure, and her Firedrake, Kazairl, are assigned the task of escorting Aethon, the Seer of the Dragonfolk, to the conferencebut they are caught in a deadly landslide. Trapped and dying, Aethon is discovered by Zavahl, the Hierarch of the Holy City of God. The dragon, in a desperate attempt to save his spirit, sends his consciousness into Zavahl's mind, only to discover that his host also is scheduled to die tomorrow night. The Hierarch is destined to become the human sacrifice that his people demand to appease their god. Dozens of characters and a proliferation of subplots are woven into the literary tapestry of this first book in the Shadowleague series. The writing is coherent and concise. Even with the abundance of characters, personalities are well delineated. Apparently unrelated people and places are skillfully drawn together into one actionfilled story. Many unanswered questions await resolution at the end of the book, as the finale sets the stage for the next installment of this exciting and unpredictable tale. The author is previously known for Harp of Winds (Bantam, 1996) and Dhiammara (Bantam, 1997). VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; JuniorHigh,defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2000, Bantam, Ages 14 to Adult, 469p, $6.99 pb. Reviewer: Nancy K. Wallace
KLIATT
Long before recorded history, the Ancients rescued a number of endangered species from their world—centaurs, angels, vampires, intelligent insect species—and settled them on the world of Myrial, with magical Curtain Walls that separated each realm and protected the less aggressive peoples from the more so. But now the Curtain Walls are beginning to malfunction, damaging weather patterns and allowing the wholesale slaughter of some groups by others. Only the Shadowleague, telepathic individuals from all species who study and keep the limited knowledge the world has of the Ancients, can hope to set things right. But disaster strikes a small party traveling to the Shadowleague conference, leaving them stranded in a snowstorm in the pitiless mountains near Tiarond. The primitive society here hasn't seen dragons or firedrakes—until now. And their bloodthirsty nature has only been enhanced by one ruthless and powerful man—a man from the Shadowleague's past who will determine their future and that of Myrial itself. This is the first book in what will probably be a trilogy; a huge number of characters are introduced and many plot threads are set in motion. Some but far from all are resolved at the end. There are so many characters it is sometimes difficult in the beginning to remember who is doing what, but the stories move along briskly and the going gets easier as they begin to converge. The background story is so interesting that one almost wishes the writer had started a little earlier in history, so readers could have seen the world when it was working well, not just when everything was going to pieces. But this is a minor quibble in an exciting, well-written book thatshould be enjoyed by all fantasy fans. (Book 1 of the Shadowleague) KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Bantam/Spectra, 469p, 18cm, $6.99. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Deirdre B. Root; Ref. Libn., Middletown P.L., Middletown, OH, July 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 4)
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