The Silver Caul was forged years ago, binding the realm of
Faerie to the mortal Shadowlands; but now both worlds are
dying, poisoned by the Caul's influence. To save Faerie it
must be destroyed, but the Caul is gone: Stolen by a
mortal. To find it, the queen's exiled sister Vinaver
dispatches the sidhe maiden Delphinea, but first she imparts
a secret: Delphinea is destined to be Faerie's next queen.
But first Faerie must survive, and Delphinea races against
time to retrieve the Caul and locate the missing Prince
Finuviel before the world falls completely into madness --
and before a brutal goblin army succeeds in breaching the
fragile barriers that keep it from invading Faerie.
Faerie's turmoil is mirrored in the human lands, where the
power-hungry Duke Cadwyr makes -- and betrays -- an alliance
with the sidhe, wielding silver weapons that make his forces
the bane of all Faerie. Against him stands the widowed
Cecily of Gar and her tiny army. Cecily is supported by the
druids, but their rituals are powerless ceremonies long
stripped of any real power. It is left to Nessa, a
blacksmith's daughter coming into her own mysterious
abilities, to unlock the secrets to the druids' true magic.
Nessa, too, has a stake in the coming battle: Both her
parents have been stolen by Faerie, and her beloved, the
half-mortal Artimour, is Vinaver's brother. Though Artimour
claims no good ever comes of a union between Shadow and
Faerie, it will take the combined efforts of both mortal and
sidhe to destroy the Silver Caul and save two worlds.
SILVER'S BANE is a busy book, encompassing a wide array of
dramatis personae. The result is a cast of
interesting characters made weak by a lack of sufficient
development, and a disjointed storyline apt to leave readers
confused, feeling as though they've missed a number of
significant events in the overall plot. This book is an
ambitious attempt to relate a rich, earthy tale of political
intrigue and high fantasy, but it falls short of truly
enchanting.
With the courts of both the Sidhe's Otherworld and the
mortals' Shadowlands in contention, nothing seems safe
anymore. Now blacksmith's daughter Nessa is caught up in
political and military intrigues that might loose the goblin
horde. Widowed queen Cecily is fighting for a throne she
never expected to have. And Delphinea, lady in waiting to
the Faery throne, is caught between the powers of Sidhe and
her destiny.
The first battles are over, and devastation wracks both
lands. With Nessa crossing between worlds to further
understanding of each people, Cecily and Delphinea must
fight to contain the evil that edges ever closer. Because
their honor demands that their countries come before
anything -- even love.
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