From Booklist
The first volume of Crown of Stars, another complex fantasy saga of political and magical intrigue, bodes extremely well. The Kingdom of Wendar is beset by civil war between brother and sister for the throne, by two hostile nonhuman races, by ghosts roaming the streets, and by enough other plots and counterplots to fuel the average Balkan war. Key to successfully resolving the overly fraught situation are Alain, a young prophet who needs to learn his parentage before he can act safely, and Liath, a lifelong fugitive sheltered by her father from worldly knowledge that she must acquire before she can act. The saga's world is exceedingly well built (including a working economy, for instance), its pacing is brisk enough to keep the pages fluttering, and its characters are, at this stage, at least archetypes who may develop into more. This certainly could become one of the best multivolume fantasies--fans, take note! Roland Green


From Kirkus Reviews
From the author of The Golden Key (with Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson, p. 1108), the first entry in a projected fantasy series. In a Europe-flavored fantasy world, King Henry of Wendar is beset by two powerful enemies: the invading nonhuman Eika and their huge, terrible dogs; and by his half-sister Sabella of Varre, who denies Henry's right to name as his heir his bastard son Sanglant. Young, parentless Alain, seemingly destined for the church, is granted a vision of the Lady of Battles and eventually attaches himself to Count Lavastine--who also keeps large, vicious dogs that, other than the Count himself, only Alain can control. At this point, however, Lavastine, a neutral in the struggle for power, is ensorcelled by Sabella's allies and marches to war against Henry. Meanwhile, Liath, having spent most of her young life with her beloved Da fleeing unknown enemies, is enslaved by churchman Hugh when Da is murdered, leaving Liath unable to pay his debuts. Hugh hopes to grab the book of magic that Da left Liath, but just in time she's recruited by Wolfhere of the King's Eagles. Wolfhere knew Da and suspects Liath has magic abilities; both Alain and Liath will play important parts in the showdown between Sabella and Henry. A creditably self-contained and appealing, modestly engrossing opener, though without much originality or bite. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM OUR EDITORS

This is the first in a new fantasy series (now in paperback), and as there are so many new fantasy series, it takes something special to give a book that bump above the ordinary -- and this book definitely has it. Elliott creates such an authentic sense of place and religion in her kingdom of Wendar, the political landscape comes to life, giving the book an edge of reality that even Martin's Game of Thrones doesn't possess. Instead of starting at the top, Elliott starts at the bottom, with the story of Liath and Alain, two young people who are thrust into the upper echelons of a power that they can't begin to understand -- but had better learn to.

—Michelle West

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For though King Henry still holds the crown of Wendar, his reign has long been contested by his sister Sabella. There are many eager to flock to her banner, and there are ways to make even the most unwilling lord into a weapon pointed at the heart of Henry's realm.

Torn by internal strife, Wendar also faces deadly raids from the north by an inhuman race, the Elka. And now terrifying portents are being seen; old ruins restored to life under the light of the full moon and peopled by the long vanished Lost Ones; dark spirits walking the land in broad daylight.

And suddenly two innocents are about to be thrust into the midst of the conflict:

Liath, who has spent her early years fleeing from unknown enemies, is a young woman with the power to change the course of history if she can only learn to master her fear and seize what is rightfully hers.

While Alain, a young man who may find his future in a vision granted by the Lady of Battles, must first unravel the mystery of who he is-whether the bastard son of a noble father, the half-breed child of an elfin lord, the unwanted get of a whore, of the heir to a proud and ancient lineage. For only when he discovers the truth can he accept the destiny for which he was born.

Liath and Alain, each trapped in a personal struggle for survival, both helplessly being drawn into a far greater battle, a war in which sorcery not swords will determine the final outcome, and the land itself may be irrevocably reshaped by the forces unleashed....

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Hard on the heels of her intriguing collaboration with Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson, The Golden Key (Forecasts, Aug. 19), comes the first volume of Elliott's new high fantasy trilogy-and it proves an entirely captivating affair. Elliott works staple fantasy elements of battle, quest and loss into a resounding narrative revolving around three appealing protagonists. Alain is an adopted youth of unknown parentage, gentle with men and beasts, now intended for the monastery. He experiences a vision from the Lady of Battles, drawing him into the civil war between Wendar's King Henry and the king's sister Sabella, who claims the throne. Meanwhile, Liath is left an orphan incapable of realizing her considerable magical powers when the Aoi, enigmatic beings from a shadowy Otherworld, murder her father. She must escape from her eerily magnetic but sadistic human captor to join King Henry's messenger Eagles, witnessing savage battles against the nonhuman Eika fearfully ravaging Wendar's northern coasts. Dominating the novel, though, is a shining hero to haunt one's dreams-Sanglant, captain of the Dragons, Henry's elite heavy cavalry, and Henry's son by an Aoi woman who stole the king's heart when she vanished from human sight. Elliott models her world from a thorough understanding of medieval European history, leavened with imaginative twists of perspective, such as a monolithic church that recognizes a Lady as well as a Lord of Creation and is dominated by a female hierarchy. She skews language, too, just enough to make it both satisfyingly familiar and tangily other-an indispensable technique in conjuring convincing fictional worlds that never were, but that we, whether young or young in heart, wish could be. (Feb.)

VOYA - Sylvia C. Mitchell

Three young protagonists will win teen interest in this multi-layered fantasy. The strongest is Liath, sixteen, who has inherited gifts of magic she has yet to fully realize. Her father has tutored her in ancient knowledge and taught her to read in several languages. Unfortunately, "Da" is murdered and daughter is put into bondage. Later, after much pain and humiliation, she is set free to become a member of the King's Dragons. As is fitting the feminist slant of the telling, the men are good but not better. Prince Sanglant, twenty-four, is the fearless leader of the guard. In the opening pages that read like a fairy tale, his non-human mother abandoned the Prince as a babe in arms, giving two special gifts. "No disease will attack him and no wound can cause him death." Alain, age seventeen, thought to be the bastard son of a noble, but raised to be honest and courageous by his step-parents, was destined to enter the service of the church. Fate had other plans. Each of the young people is helped and hindered by their true parentage, and thus a bond is established with teen readers. The story veers from fantasy's usual lack of sexual details with a strong portrayal of Liath's physical and sexual abuse from evil church cleric Hugh. He "acquires" her as a bond servant and gives her the choice of sleeping with him or with the pigs. In the depth of winter she reneges and later has a miscarriage without knowing how she got pregnant. Even when she is free of him, his vile presence haunts her and stays with the reader as well. The attractive cover depicts a charging knight in full dragon dress. The reverse side features an inaccurate sketch of the dragon constellation. Detail borrowed from medieval history and church structure paint a vivid background, but also tend to blunt the action. The tale stops with no satisfactory conclusion. This first volume of Crown of Stars is not a stand-alone read. It will be loved by die-hard, dedicated fantasy fans who liked the lengthy Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy (DAW, 1988-93) by Tad Williams. VOYA Codes: 5Q 3P S (Hard to imagine it being any better written, Will appeal with pushing, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Kirkus Reviews

From the author of The Golden Key (with Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson, p. 1108), the first entry in a projected fantasy series. In a Europe-flavored fantasy world, King Henry of Wendar is beset by two powerful enemies: the invading nonhuman Eika and their huge, terrible dogs; and by his half-sister Sabella of Varre, who denies Henry's right to name as his heir his bastard son Sanglant. Young, parentless Alain, seemingly destined for the church, is granted a vision of the Lady of Battles and eventually attaches himself to Count Lavastine—who also keeps large, vicious dogs that, other than the Count himself, only Alain can control. At this point, however, Lavastine, a neutral in the struggle for power, is ensorcelled by Sabella's allies and marches to war against Henry. Meanwhile, Liath, having spent most of her young life with her beloved Da fleeing unknown enemies, is enslaved by churchman Hugh when Da is murdered, leaving Liath unable to pay his debuts. Hugh hopes to grab the book of magic that Da left Liath, but just in time she's recruited by Wolfhere of the King's Eagles. Wolfhere knew Da and suspects Liath has magic abilities; both Alain and Liath will play important parts in the showdown between Sabella and Henry.

A creditably self-contained and appealing, modestly engrossing opener, though without much originality or bite.