From Publishers Weekly
In A Crown Disowned: Volume Three of the Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan, the lively, well-paced conclusion to Andre Norton and Sasha Miller's fantasy trilogy (To the King a Daughter; Knight or Knave), Rohan must defeat the Ice Dragons and the armies of the North as well as defend his allies from the machinations of Dowager Queen Ysa. The unsurprising, inoffensive narrative contains enough swashbuckling, poisoning and intrigue to keep readers turning the pages.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The Ice Dragon Riders sweep down from their northern home, bringing terror and destruction upon the lands to the south. Rohan of the Sea-Rovers seeks an alliance with the Bog-folk and attempts to convince the Dowager to abandon her petty politicking and join forces to fight the Ice Dragons and the Great Foulness they serve. Continuing the tale begun in To the King a Daughter and Knight or Knave, veteran authors Norton (the "Witch World" series; see also Elvenblood, reviewed above) and Miller (Ladylord) weave a tale of love and magic amid a time of war and turbulence. This classic fantasy belongs in most libraries.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
A Crown Disowned is the third volume of the cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan that began with To the King a Daughter and continued in Knight or Knave.
The earth shakes and splits as the forces from the North draw nearer. The Ice Dragon Riders are speaking to the land, and more fire mountains awaken in the Bog. Rohan seeks to join forces with Tusser, leader of the Bog-folk, as Queen Ysa raises an army to clear the Bog.
War draws closer until even the Queen cannot deny it any longer. Raids from the north increase, and, for the first time, the Riders of the Ice Dragons appear. It is time for the Queen to give up her game of pitting one faction against another. Four great armies are assembled to march under the same banner. Though they do not represent the Four Trees, they nevertheless see this as a good omen.
Many good men from all four armies fall in battle, yet the Great Foulness is still at large. Is the combined might of the four powers enough to free the land from evil?
About the Author
For well over a half century, Andre Norton has been one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world. Since her first SF novels were published in the 1940s, her adventure SF has enthralled readers young and old. With series such as Time Traders, Solar Queen, Forerunner, Beast Master, Crosstime, and Janus, as well as many stand-alone novels, her tales of action and adventure throughout the galaxy have drawn countless readers to science fiction.
Her fantasy, including the best-selling Witch World series, her "Magic" series, and many other unrelated novels, has been popular with readers for decades. Lauded as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, she is the recipient of a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. Not only have her books been enormously popular; she also has inspired several generations of SF and fantasy writers, especially many talented women writers who have followed in her footsteps. In the past two decades she has worked with other writers on a number of novels. Most notable among these are collaborations with Mercedes Lackey, the Halfblood Chronicles, as well as collaborations with A.C. Crispin (in the Witch World series) and Sherwood Smith (in the Time Traders and Solar Queen series). An Ohio native, Ms. Norton lived for a number of years in Winter Park, Florida, and now makes her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she continues to write, and presides over High Hallack, a writers' resource and retreat.
Sasha Miller has published: Three Ships and Three Kings, Priam's Daughter, The Last Heracles (under her former married name of Georgia Sallaska), The Quest (under the pen name G.S. Madden), Falcon Magic; Ladylord, and a tetralogy with Andre Norton: To The King a Daughter, Knight or Knave, A Crown Denied, and Dragon Blade, scheduled for late 2003, in addition to numerous short stories. Her nonfiction book, Mother Miller's How To Write Good Book, is currently available from FoxAcre Press. She is a member of the Authors' Guild and SFWA, and is a Clarion '84 survivor. Married to Ben W. Miller, she resides with him in Colorado Springs.
A Crown Disowned FROM THE PUBLISHER
A Crown Disowned is the third volume of the cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan that began with To the King a Daughter and continued in Knight or Knave.
The earth shakes and splits as the forces from the North draw nearer. The Ice Dragon Riders are speaking to the land, and more fire mountains awaken in the Bog. Rohan seeks to join forces with Tusser, leader of the Bog-folk, as Queen Ysa raises an army to clear the Bog.
War draws closer until even the Queen cannot deny it any longer. Raids from the north increase, and, for the first time, the Riders of the Ice Dragons appear. It is time for the Queen to give up her game of pitting one faction against another. Four great armies are assembled to march under the same banner. Though they do not represent the Four Trees, they nevertheless see this as a good omen.
Many good men from all four armies fall in battle, yet the Great Foulness is still at large. Is the combined might of the four powers enough to free the land from evil?
FROM THE CRITICS
Kirkus Reviews
Third and, apparently, last in the series (Knight or Knave, 2001, etc.). In the North, the powers and ambitions of the evil creature known as the Great One continue to grow, threatening Rendel and all the lands of the south. Already besieged by unremitting snow and frigid temperatures, the south must now contend with the Great One's armies, both human and nonhuman, and his Ice Dragons whose breath is ice, not fire. Only a grand alliance might defeat the invaders. Young Rohan willingly commits his Sea-Rovers and their ships; Gaurin pledges his Nodors; but Tusser and his irascible Bog-folk are less easy to persuade. Gaurin's wife Ashen, whose magic is growing in power if not control, and the Wysen-wyf Zazar (she's secretly one of the Fates) must somehow convince the Dowager Ysa to engage Rendelsham's power, but Ysa is wedded to her intrigues and political meddling. Allied with the Great One is the sorceress Flavielle; she effortlessly seduces Rendelsham's High Marshal, Harous, who thereupon attempts to lead Gaurin, Rohan, and Tusser into a trap. And even if the allies can defeat the Great One's armies and dragons, it will require powerful magic indeed to vanquish the Great One himself. Nothing much new or different amid the welter of battles, plots, betrayals, and maneuvers: still, a churning and spirited if unsurprising conclusion to this agreeable series.
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