FROM THE PUBLISHER

When Blaine Kendricks discovers strangers in Shadow Hollers, she thinks they've come to trade. She couldn't be more wrong.

When Dacey Childers comes to Shadow Hollers, Blaine's family thinks he's there to hunt game. They couldn't be more wrong.

When the Annekteh come to Shadow Hollers, they think the isolated community living there has no way to resist their invasion.

They're pretty much right on target.

But the last man of the lost seer's blood has returned, and is about to draw Blaine into his magic, his adventure...and the most dangerous hunt she could ever imagine.

FROM THE CRITICS

Romantic Times

...a rare, shimmering aura of mystic legend.

Dragon

...first rate...the maturity of its vision and the skill of its crafting are startling...

KLIATT

Durgin blends a high-fantasy quest with an Appalachian-like setting to create an original and appealing tale. Seventeen-year-old Blaine Hendricks isn't quite like the other folks in Shadow Hollers; she doesn't want to do the things that other young women her age look forward to, like marrying and raising a family. She's plagued with dreams that feel real and an insatiable curiosity about the world around her. Blaine prefers to roam the mountains and decipher the scraps of lore in the partially destroyed book she found in the mountains. Then strangers come to Shadow Hollers, but they're not just passing through. They plan to stay a good long while, if the Annekteh has anything to say about it. The Annekteh is an entity made up of units that possess humans and it can leap from person to person through touch; it was driven out of the region years before, but not destroyed. Those with "seer's blood," capable of identifying the Annekteh, or "Takers" as the Show Hollers folk say, left the area after the battle, and pure-blooded seers began to die out. However, Dacey Childers still has some of the seer's blood in him, and he's come to Shadow Hollers to warn the people and take a stand—but he's going to need help, and Blaine is not only the only one willing to help him, she's the only one who can. Durgin has a winner here with a tightly crafted and fast-paced plot, appealing characters, and fresh, lively writing. The suspense builds at a fingernail-gnawing rate, and the setting is reminiscent of Orson Scott Card's Alvin Journeymaker series. This title should have wide appeal not only for fantasy fans but also for historical fiction readers who don't mind a bit of fantasy in the mix. KLIATTCodes: SA*—Exceptional book, recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Baen, 345p, 18cm, $6.99. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Donna L. Scanlon; Children's Libn., Lancaster Area Lib., Lancaster, PA, November 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 6)

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