Firethorn - Hardcover

Micklem, Sarah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007203969 ISBN 13: 9780007203963

Publisher: Voyager, 2005

Synopsis

A sumptuous love story set in a world as real as history and as marvellous as legend.

A foundling child, Luck – named for the colour of her god-favoured copper hair, is fortunate to be taken in by one of the Blood. She remembers little of her past, her parents a vague and teasing memory, but service in the Dame’s household is better than that of most mud folk. She is beaten rarely and is fed well, and, under the Dame’s watchful eye, Luck is even permitted to learn herb lore. But her comfortable world is turned upside when the old Dame dies, and her nephew arrives to claim his inheritance.

Choosing to remain with her friends rather than claim her freedom and strike out alone, Luck’s life is calm until her new exotic looks attract the attentions of her new master...

About this title

Review:

Bloody, insightful, emotionally wrenching and beautifully written, Firethorn is the impressive first volume of an epic fantasy trilogy. It's also an astonishingly assured debut novel that foretells Sarah Micklem's place among authors such as Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jacqueline Carey, Terry Goodkind, and Rosemary Sutcliff at the top rank of high fantasists.

A mysterious foundling with unique red hair and strange god-given powers, Firethorn is condemned to life as a powerless servant--or so she believes, until one of King Thyrse's noblemen becomes her lover. But, as she accompanies Sire Galan to war, Firethorn discovers she may have traded one form of bondage for another. A soldier's mistress--even a high-born soldier's mistress--is despised as a "sheath," or camp follower. Also, Firethorn's nasty ex-overlord, Sire Pava, has joined the king's army, and she has made a new enemy in her lover's cousin and closest friend, the sadistic Sire Rodela. However, she and Galan share a fiery love that will surely overcome the opposition of both their personal enemies and their kingdom's enemies. Then Sire Galan makes a strange, heart-shattering wager that may not only ruin his honor, but get them both killed. --Cynthia Ward, Amazon.com

Review:

‘This is powerful stuff, with a level of physical and emotional realism that is too often missing in fantasy.’
The Times

‘Feminist theory, old magic, sexual politics and a ruthless refusal to ignore the harsher realities of being powerless make for a beguiling book.’
Guardian

'A sweeping adventure saga as mystical as it is raw... this hypnotic tale of passion and survival will resonate with sophisticated readers of both sexes.'
Publishers Weekly

‘Bloody, insightful, emotionally wrenching and beautifully written, Firethorn is...an astonishingly assured debut novel that foretells Sarah Micklem's place among the top rank of high fantasists’ Amazon

About this edition

• Publisher: Voyager
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0007203969
• ISBN 13: 9780007203963
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400