The Fifth Sorceress (The chronicles of blood & stone) [Paperback]

The Fifth Sorceress is an undoubtedly impressive debut in epic fantasy for Robert Newcomb. It has a dark magnificence in many of its set pieces of slaughter and magic, even though it is seriously flawed by a prurient paranoia about powerful women and unfettered female sexuality. Young Tristan is about to inherit the throne of Eustracia and resents the fact that his entire life has been mapped out for him--30 years of kingship followed by immortality as a wizard. Nothing, though, is going to be as he expects; centuries earlier the wizards of Eustracia exiled four powerful sorceresses, who had almost won a particularly vicious civil war. Now that Tristan and his sister have been born--filled, unknown to themselves, with magic potential--the sorceresses' plans have matured and they are about to return in blood and terror. Newcomb has a real gift for describing violent action and intense emotional states; he puts his hero through a series of ordeals as upsetting as they are thrilling. Tristan wins, as we always expect him to, and then Newcomb gives us a slingshot ending that implies fascinating sequels of ever escalating wonder and terror. --Roz Kaveney

‘Beautifully and vividly drawn ...impressive’ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Tristan, prince of Eutracia, knows it is his destiny to be crowned king, however much he dislikes the notion. Preferring the irresponsibilities of life as a prince in waiting, his coronation draws uncomfortably near. But his fate is sealed when his kingdom is assailed by a monstrous army, misshapen slaves of the long-banished, vengeance-seeking Sorceresses from across the Sea of Whispers. Together with his tutor, guide and adviser, the wizard Wigg, Tristan must cross this uncrossable sea and face the sorceresses in their lair - for they have taken his twin sister captive and stolen the magic of Eutracia for their own vile purposes. And on this storm-tossed journey fraught with danger, he is pressed to learn the nature of magic. For unbeknownst to Tristan, not only is he to inherit the crown of Eutracia, but also a far greater burden. For he is the Chosen One of whom the Prophecies foretold, the one upon whose shoulders rests the ultimate balance of Good and Evil in this world...

'Only the four Mistresses remained from the hundreds she had loved, lost and left behind. Soon, my dear Sisters, she thought. So many shall pay. Pay for the sins of their
ancestors . . .'

It is three centuries since the devastating war that all but destroyed the kingdom of Eutracia. Those who masterminded the bloodshed - four powerful, conquest-hungry sorceresses -- were banished and sent into exile beyond the feared Sea of Whispers, with return all but impossible, death all but inevitable. Since those dark days, Eutracia has flourished, protected and guided by its council of wizards. Now a land of peace and plenty, it is about to crown a new king and the spirit of celebration fills every heart. Except one.

Prince Tristan is a reluctant monarch-to-be. Though born with the endowed blood that will enable him to master magic, and destined to succeed his father as ruler of this land and its people, he is a rebel soul.

But more than tradition compels Tristan to ascend the throne. The very survival of Eutracia depends upon it. For after these long years of peace, dreadful omens have begun to appear, heralding something too unspeakable to ponder. It seems an ancient evil, nurtured over centuries of darkness, has returned and is thirsting for blood, for domination and, above all, for revenge. Tristan's fate is to fulfil a role chosen for him by an ages-old prophecy - to face an adversary whose hatred knows no bounds and whose greatest weapon is the person he loves most . . .

Not since Terry Goodkind unsheathed the Sword of Truth has such a tale of heroism and magic so captured the imagination. Brimming with excitement and wonder, dark intrigue and dread enchantments, The Fifth Sorceress marks the beginning of a magnificent fantasy adventure by a remarkable new storyteller.

ROBERT NEWCOMB travelled widely in his youth as a member of the American Institute for Foreign Study. He is now a business man and also a dowser. He lives in Florida and is writing the next book in trilogy.