Owlknight (Darian's Tale, Vol. 3)

Lackey, Mercedes; Dixon, Larry

ISBN 10: 0886778514 / ISBN 13: 9780886778514

Published by DAW Hardcover, 1999

Book is in very good condition. Clean with little to no signs of wear or markings highlights. Seller Inventory # LFM.8WN0

Synopsis:

A rebellious orphan boy escaped the sacking and burning of his village by barbarians and found sanctuary with the mysterious Tayledras Hawkbrothers, deep in Pelagiris forest. During Darian's stay with the Hawkbrothers, he discovered his magical Gift - to be a Healing Adept - and began to forge a diplomatic alliance between these exotic, magical people and his own people of Valdemar.
Six years have passed since Darian's fateful flight into the forest. This once-troubled youth has grown into a mature, responsible adult. Not only is he a Master Mage, but he is the head of a new community - the Vale of k'Valdemar, located near Darian's home village of Errold's Grove - which houses a diplomatic council comprised of Hawkbrothers, Valdemarans, and representatives of the more peaceful barbarian clans of the north.
Darian is haunted by the pain of not knowing what happened to his parents - not even knowing if they are alive or dead. Now that he has become a Master Mage, his skill is finally sufficient to try to resolve this mystery. And when clues lead Darian to hope that his parents may indeed be alive, he mounts a small search party to try to locate them. But the trail leads deep into little-known territory, rife with hostile barbarian tribes. And though Darian is desperate to know what became of his parents, he can't be certain that they are alive or totally confident that he can find them. Is it worth risking his life and the lives of his companions to chase what could be a dream?

Review: Owlknight follows on from Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon's two earlier novels about Darian Firkin , Owlflight and Owlsight. By now the boy who ran from barbarian invaders is both Knight of Valdemar and a Master Mage; he is governor of a small province and in love with Keisha who returns his feelings, but he still has problems and responsibilities. For one thing, he has never solved the mystery of what happened to his parents; for another, Keisha refuses to marry him lest his role as governor and hers of healer come into conflict--and there are still barbarians beyond the border and one day they will come back.

The story of how these problems are all resolved is told in a quiet tone unusual in this sort of epic fantasy. Darian has as much to look within for the solution to these issues as to struggle in the outside world, and the woodland journey in the course of which he does this is much of the time a celebration of the renewal of the human soul by the natural world.

Lackey and Dixon have found a courtly meditative way of telling an attractively simple story; Darian's growth to final maturity is inevitable, but still fascinating. --Roz Kaveney

Bibliographic Details

Title: Owlknight (Darian's Tale, Vol. 3)
Publisher: DAW Hardcover
Publication Date: 1999
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: very_good