The Veil of A Thousand Tears: The Pearl Saga Volume Two - Softcover

Lustbader, Eric Van

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006486088 ISBN 13: 9780006486084

Publisher: HarperVoyager, 2010

Synopsis

The second volume in this huge new fantasy in the tradition of Frank Herbert’s phenomenal DUNE series.

Ever since the V'ornn invasion the oppressed Kundalan have been dwindling in strength. Their religion is dying, their magic fading and their goddess all but forgotten. Only the fabled and long-awaited Dar Sala-at can find the long-lost, all-powerful Pearl and save them from extinction.

Against incredible odds Riane, the Dar Sala-at, has recovered the Ring of Five Dragons and fitted it into the Storehouse Door, behind which the Pearl should be found. But despite the prophecy the door will not open. Riane's protector, Giyan, explains that daemons must have escaped from the sorcerous abyss where they were locked away by the Goddess Miina aeons ago. What Giyan doesn't know is that one of those daemons is about to possess her body.

In order to retrieve Giyan before the daemon kills her, Riane must find the fabled Veil of a Thousand Tears, said to have been created from the tears of the Five Sacred Dragons of Miina and to hold the key to the secrets of Za Hara-at, the legendary city that will one day bring Kundalan and V'ornn together in peace. For this reason she is not the only one who seeks the Veil. The evil Gyrgon, Nith Batoxxx, is also on its trail, and soon Riane will be fighting him for her life.

In this fast-paced and compelling saga, best-selling author Eric Van Lustbader explores the conflicts that have driven civilizations since the dawn of time: between good and evil, technology and spirituality, faith and despair.

About this title

Review:

Like its predecessor The Ring of Five Dragons, Eric von Lustbader's The Veil of a Thousand Tears is a frustrating mix of stylishly unpleasant imaginings, and overly complicated plots, too many lazy uses of default sf and fantasy material. The previous book gradually revealed that the oppression of the spiritual Kundalan people by the brutal militarist Vo'orm invaders is just the superficial aspect of a broader attempt by demons to move back into the world and overthrow the Goddess who exiled them into nothingness. Specifically, the corruption of the Vo'orm war lord Kurgan turns out to be only the first of a whole series of corruptions and possessions; Lustbader is very good indeed at the nightmare of personalities being expunged and desecrated--the stuffy convent of the first book is gradually turned into an abomination. His protagonist Riane, a male Vo'orm soul implanted in a martyred female Kundalan, gradually grows into the role of messiah; the journeys Lusbader sends Riane on involve some very clichéd Arabian material and some rather arbitary use of magical skills. Fans of Lustbader's dark heroic fantasies and martial arts thrillers will love having more of the same; other readers will find some engaging material here and some not so good.--Roz Kaveney

Review:

Praise for The Ring of Five Dragons:

‘A potent portal to fabulous mythic realms ... an imaginative, otherworldly culture clash between technology and spirituality’ Publishers Weekly

‘Lustbader creates intriguing and conflicted characters and spins a complex world of religion, magic and technology around them’ Amazon.com

‘Enthralling and exciting reading, full of unexpected twists and surprises’ Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperVoyager
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0006486088
• ISBN 13: 9780006486084
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 200