- Hardcover: 496 pages
- Publisher: SOS Free Stock (May 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0765303469
- ISBN-13: 978-0765303462
- Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 16.4 x 3.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 885,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Book Description
After being away for many years, Storm Constantine returns to the saga of Wraeththu, picking up threads from the original trilogy and weaving them into a stunning new novel, The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure.
The setting is, again, a future earth in which humanity has been supplanted as the dominant species by the hermaphrodite Wraeththu. Though they believe themselves to have inherited the earth, in truth Wraeththu have yet to learn the truth about their origins. They have expanded their number through mutating humans into hara like themselves, but now comes the time for them to probe the mysteries of creation.
After a magical Festival night that surpassed all others, when the world of Wraeththu was shaken to its core, two hara, Ulaume and Flick, embark upon separate journeys in search of meaning and truth. Their paths cross, and they find they share a single destiny: to discover the truth about who holds power in the fabled city of Immanion and to defend the outcast harling Lileem, who is linked with the strange Kamagrian tribe.
From dangerous skirmishes with other tribes to life in hiding on the river boat Esmeraldarine; from chance encounters in the town of Galhea, to the isolated Kamagrian city of Shilalama, Ulaume and Flick must fight to retain their freedom and protect Lileem, who might be the key to the destiny of all Wraeththu.
Many characters from the previous novels reappear in Wraiths. Besides Flick and Ulaume, the story includes Calanthe and Orien, plus Seel and his consort Swift, along with Swift’s enigmatic hostling, Cobweb. There is also the Tigron Pellaz and swirling above all of them, forever the puppeteer, the powerful Thiede, mother and father of Wraeththudom. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
The setting is, again, a future earth in which humanity has been supplanted as the dominant species by the hermaphrodite Wraeththu. Though they believe themselves to have inherited the earth, in truth Wraeththu have yet to learn the truth about their origins. They have expanded their number through mutating humans into hara like themselves, but now comes the time for them to probe the mysteries of creation.
After a magical Festival night that surpassed all others, when the world of Wraeththu was shaken to its core, two hara, Ulaume and Flick, embark upon separate journeys in search of meaning and truth. Their paths cross, and they find they share a single destiny: to discover the truth about who holds power in the fabled city of Immanion and to defend the outcast harling Lileem, who is linked with the strange Kamagrian tribe.
From dangerous skirmishes with other tribes to life in hiding on the river boat Esmeraldarine; from chance encounters in the town of Galhea, to the isolated Kamagrian city of Shilalama, Ulaume and Flick must fight to retain their freedom and protect Lileem, who might be the key to the destiny of all Wraeththu.
Many characters from the previous novels reappear in Wraiths. Besides Flick and Ulaume, the story includes Calanthe and Orien, plus Seel and his consort Swift, along with Swift’s enigmatic hostling, Cobweb. There is also the Tigron Pellaz and swirling above all of them, forever the puppeteer, the powerful Thiede, mother and father of Wraeththudom. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
From the Inside Flap
What Ulaume heard made no sense. He heard a horse scream. He smelled cordite. He saw blood running across sandy soil, dark blood, from somewhere deep inside. The sight of it touched him, moved him and he felt something he’d never felt before. He didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t fear. He saw the face of Pellaz, as he’d appeared when Ulaume had first met him, his eyes full of curiosity and desire. Ulaume’s essence was drawn towards those eyes. This time their welcome would not turn to ice. But when Ulaume reached them, they were glazed over and dull. They were dead.
‘Ulaume!’ Rough hands shook his body, hauled him to his feet. Someone slapped his face hard. ‘Ulaume! Come out of it! Come back!’
Ulaume blinked, gulped air, sucked it into his body in a powerful rush. Sound and movement hurtled back, his stilled heart raced frantically. The night was confusion and riot around him. He saw Lianvis’ face before him, pinched with concern, and slumped against his body.
‘What happened?’ Lianvis demanded.
Ulaume raised his head, shook it slowly from side to side. The movement filled him with nausea.
‘Tell me,’ Lianvis said in a low voice. ‘I must know.’
Ulaume wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. ‘He’s dead,’ he said. ‘That’s all you need to know.’ --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
On the night if the last full moon before the winter solstice, the hara of the desert Wraeththu tribe of Kakkahaar cast off their sand-colored robes and dance naked beneath the stars. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
On the night if the last full moon before the winter solstice, the hara of the desert Wraeththu tribe of Kakkahaar cast off their sand-colored robes and dance naked beneath the stars. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This magnificent book adds background and scope to the Wraeththu Trilogy. Here you see the "behind the scenes" of the previous books, gain a more profound knowledge of the personality of major and minor charachters and you're introduced to new ones,who shall be developed in future books. It's like a great fresco of the imaginary world of the Wraeththu, and you get a vision more introspective and more vast, concerned even whit major issues (punishment and redemption of criminals, the role of diversity in a society, manipulations of other minds) Public issues and private lives intertwine and interact in this magnificent novel,fourth in a series of fantastic Future History as poignant as Peter F Hamilton's Night Dawn Trilogy. Here you'll find charachters as fascinating as Joshua Calvert and Dexter Quinn...sometimes fused in the same person!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Wraiths of Will and Pleasure is Storm Constantine's return to the world of Wreaththu, after far too long in many fan's opinion! Storm's style has matured over the years and has lost some of the qualities that made the origianl trilogy so gripping. However... this new book is incredible. Now the story is being told 3rd person, which may take away some of the immediacy but allows more movement between the central characters.
For those who read and enjoyed the original books, Wraiths starts somewhere between books 2 and 3, and feels like being reunited with old friends! As the reader you feel like you are being allowed a privileged glimpse behind the scenes.. learning things that went on with other characters while the original trilogy focused on Cal and Pell.
I was going to describe Wreaththu to new readers, but I don’t want to take away anything from Storm. Suffice to say, if you like fantasy you will LOVE Storm’s work.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It has been a while since I first read the original Wraeththu trilgogy and picked this up to "fill in the blanks" not really expecting much more. I really should have known better than to under-estimate the works of Storm Constantine, after only a few pages I was falling in love with the whole world of the Wraeththu all over again.
If you loved the original trilogy then buy this, if you've never read the originals then buy this anyway.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant Book
I read the original trilogy back in the 80s, and really loved it, Storm Constantine instantly became one of my favorite writers,and remains so still. Read more
Published 22 months ago by magsmagenta
Sadly, not a return to form...
Storm Constantine used to write noirish goth fiction about worlds both enthralling and exotic, filled with characters that were vivid and full of emotion. Read more
Published on 31 July 2003
fantastic
Anyone who has read STorm's previous Wreaththu trilogy will love this book - even if you haven't you will love this book! Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2003 by Jessica
Worth the fifteen-year wait
I first bought the original Wraeththu trilogy when I was doing my work experience in a bookshop 15 years ago. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2003 by L. Goodchild
Return to a magical world
The Wraeththuseries was one of a kind book. A strange post-apocalyptic scenario whit a new species of marvelous androgynous creatures some of them reminding us of the Wild Boys of... Read more
Published on 20 May 2003 by Ventura Angelo
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