SummaryWith the knowing eye and fiery voice of an accomplished
storyteller, Alice Borchardt takes us back to the amazing
world of a re-envisioned Camelot in the continuing Tales of
Guinevere. Remarkably strong, magically talented, a match
for friend and foe alike, Guinevere has come into womanhood—
and faces a new relationship with Lancelot that will lead
to the sharp-edged triangle of legend. . . . Born of the Highlands, along Pictish shores washed by the
icy North Sea, Guinevere, Queen of the Dragon People, has
become a woman. She has taken the power offered to her by
the Dragon Throne. Now there is no turning back. In order
to protect her beloved homeland from the obscene greed of
the Saxon raiders, Guinevere knows she must launch an
attack. The sub-chiefs refuse to fall in line with her
plans (because what does this young thing, barely a woman,
know of warfare?) and give her an army of the useless, the
outcast, the weakest of their young boys and girls. But the
war party must proceed. If it fails, the command of both
land and sea will fall to the enemy. Facing her first battle against the pirates on foreign
shores, and backed only by a meager band of ill-equipped
fighters, Guinevere calls upon the spirits of the dead to
aid her in the attack. Diving into the dark, morbid depths,
Guinevere suddenly understands more of hate, love, anger,
and revenge than she has ever wanted to. But the power the
dead provide comes at a severe price. If she makes it
through the raid, she will be a changed woman, in more ways
than she can possibly imagine. Further south, Black Leg, her childhood companion, sets out
on his own. It is a quest to become a man—a man, he hopes,
who will be worthy of the newly crowned Guinevere. A
shapeshifter and the son of Guinevere's adoptive man-wolf
father, Black Leg (soon to be Lancelot) feels he has much
to learn—and even more to prove. He discovers both his
inner strength and an unmitigated passion when he meets the
Lady of the Lake. But the trials of his journey— both
mental and physical—turn out to be more perilous with each
step. And when Lancelot and Guinevere are finally reunited,
the consequences of both their ordeals will unleash a
torrent of anguish and desire. With familiar names brilliantly repositioned for a new
generation of Arthurian fans—evil Merlin, conniving Igrane,
complex Lancelot, tainted Arthur, and of course, warrior
Guinevere—Alice Borchardt's creation stands as a testament
to the power of imagination.
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