New Releases by Patricia A. McKillip

IN UNA TERRA FANTASTICA IN CUI MAGICI PRESAGI ATTENDONO DI TRADURSI NUOVAMENTE IN REALTÀ, IL VIAGGIO AVVENTUROSO DEL GIOVANE EROE CHE RISOLVERÀ IL PIÙ OSCURO DEGLI ENIGMI.

World Fantasy Award-Winner First time available in an e-book edition "Rich and regal." —The New York Times Young Sybel, the heiress of powerful wizards, needs the company of no-one outside her gates. In her exquisite stone mansion, she is attended by exotic, magical beasts: Riddle-master Cyrin the boar; the treasure-starved dragon Gyld; Gules the Lyon, tawny master of the Southern Deserts; Ter, the fiercely vengeful falcon; Moriah, feline Lady of the Night. Sybel only lacks the exquisite and mysterious Liralen, which continues to elude her most powerful enchantments. But Sybel's solitude is to be shattered when a desperate soldier arrives bearing a mysterious child. Soon Sybel will discover that the world of men is full of love, deceit, and the temptations of vast power.

Featuring three brand-new stories and an original introduction by Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn. Bestselling author Patricia A. McKillip (The Riddle-Master of Hed) is one of the most lyrical writers gracing the fantasy genre. With the debut of her newest work, Dreams of Distant Shores is a true ode to her many talents. Within these pages you will find a youthful artist possessed by both his painting and his muse and seductive travelers from the sea enrapturing distant lovers. The statue of a mermaid comes suddenly to life, and two friends are transfixed by a haunted estate. Fans of McKillip’s ethereal fiction will find much to delight them; those lucky enough to be discovering her work will find much to enchant them.

In the new fantasy from the award-winning author of the Riddle-Master Trilogy, a young man comes of age amid family secrets and revelations, and transformative magic. Hidden away from the world by his mother, the powerful sorceress Heloise Oliver, Pierce has grown up working in her restaurant in Desolation Point. One day, unexpectedly, strangers pass through town on the way to the legendary capital city. “Look for us,” they tell Pierce, “if you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Arden’s court.” Lured by a future far away from the bleak northern coast, Pierce makes his choice. Heloise, bereft and furious, tells her son the truth: about his father, a knight in King Arden’s court; about an older brother he never knew existed; about his father’s destructive love for King Arden’s queen, and Heloise’s decision to raise her younger son alone. As Pierce journeys to Severluna, his path twists and turns through other lives and mysteries: an inn where ancient rites are celebrated, though no one will speak of them; a legendary local chef whose delicacies leave diners slowly withering from hunger; his mysterious wife, who steals Pierce’s heart; a young woman whose need to escape is even greater than Pierce’s; and finally, in Severluna, King Arden's youngest son, who is urged by strange and lovely forces to sacrifice his father’s kingdom. Things are changing in that kingdom. Oldmagic is on the rise. The immensely powerful artifact of an ancient god has come to light, and the king is gathering his knights to quest for this profound mystery, which may restore the kingdom to its former glory—or destroy it...

Since the day her father's fishing boat returned without him, Peri and her mother have mourned his loss. Her mother sinks into a deep depression and spends her days gazing out at the sea. Unable to control her anger and sadness any longer, Peri uses the small magic she knows to hex the sea. And suddenly into her drab life come the King's sons-changelings with strange ties to the underwater kingdom-a young magician, and, finally, love.

Patricia A. McKillip is the author of a number of hugely acclaimed fantasies, including THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD and OMBRIA IN SHADOW, both of which won the WORLD FANTASY AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL, and THE RIDDLE-MASTER OF HED and its sequels, which have been compared to Gene Wolfe''s epic BOOK OF THE NEW SUN. She has won the MYTHOPOEIC AWARD three times and in 2008 was given the WORLD FANTASY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT. This omnibus collects three of her later works: SONG FOR THE BASILISK, NEBULA-nominee THE TOWER AT STONY WOOD and the WORLD FANTASY AWARD-shortlisted OD MAGIC.

Patricia A. McKillip is the author of a number of hugely acclaimed fantasies, including The Riddle-Master of Hed and its sequels, which have been compared to Gene Wolfe''s epic Book of the New Sun, and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and Ombria in Shadow, both of which won the World Fantasy Award for best novel. She has won the Mythopoeic Award three times and in 2008 was given the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement. This omnibus collects three of her later works: In the Forests of Serre, Alphabet of Thorn and The Bell at Sealey Head. IN THE FORESTS OF SERRE: In the tales of World Fantasy Award-winning author Patricia McKillip, nothing is ever as it seems. A mirror is never just a mirror; a forest is never just a forest. Here, it is a place where a witch can hide in her house of bones and a prince can bargain with his heart...where good and evil entwine and wear each others'' faces...and where a bird with feathers of fire can quench the fiercest longing... ALPHABET OF THORN: One of the most spectacular fantasists of our time, Patricia A. McKillip creates fairy tale worlds of wonder and magic. Now, she opens the page on a time and place where an orphan girl is haunted by thorns...a reluctant queen rules between sea and sky... and epics never end... THE BELL AT SEALEY HEAD: Sealey Head is a small town on the edge of the ocean, a sleepy place where everyone hears the ringing of a bell no one can see. On the outskirts of town is an impressive estate, Aislinn House, where the aged Lady Eglantyne lies dying, and where the doors sometimes open not to its own dusty rooms, but to the wild majesty of a castle full of knights and princesses.

Pass through fairy tales into the magic of invisible worlds in these opulent stories by a beloved fantasy icon and author of the classic Riddlemaster trilogy. Patricia McKillip has inspired generations of dedicated readers with enchanting tales that are as romantic as they are unexpected. Her lush, mesmerizing narratives are as deliciously bittersweet as the finest chocolate and as intoxicating as the finest wine. The bewitching wonders offered here include princesses dancing with dead suitors, a knight in love with an official of exotic lineage, and fortune’s fool stealing into the present instead of the future. You’ll discover a ravishing undine and her mortal bridegroom who is more infatuated with politics than pleasure, a time-traveling angel forbidden to intervene in Cotton Mather’s religious ravings, a wizard seduced in his youth by the Faerie Queen returning with a treasure that is rightfully hers, and an overachieving teenage mage tricked into discovering her true name very close to home.

The latest "rich, resonant" (Publishers Weekly) fantasy from the World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Bell at Sealey Head. Eager to graduate from the school on the hill, Phelan Cle chose Bone Plain for his final paper because he thought it would be an easy topic. Immortalized by poets and debated by scholars, it was commonly accepted-even at a school steeped in bardic tradition-that Bone Plain, with its three trials, three terrors, and three treasures, was nothing more than a legend, a metaphor. But as his research leads him to the life of Nairn, the Wandering Bard, the Unforgiven, Phelan starts to wonder if there are any easy answers...

Twenty years ago, the powerful mage Atrix Wolfe unleashed an uncontrollable force that killed his beloved king. Now, the Queen of the Wood has offered him one last chance for redemption. She asks him to find her daughter, who vanished into the human world during the massacre he caused. No one has seen the princess-but deep in the kitchens of the Castle of Pelucir, there is a scullery maid who appeared out of nowhere one night long ago. She cannot speak and her eyes are full of sadness. But there are those who call her beautiful.

On the outskirts of Sealey Head, a small ocean-side town haunted by the ringing of a bell that no one can see, is Aislinn House, a large estate where mysterious doors sometimes open to reveal a colorful fantasy castle populated by knights and princesses.

A New York Times Bestselling AuthorFour extraordinary and renowned authors come together with stories of epic romance that live through the ages . . . of the beguiling and transforming power of beauty . . . of a woman awakening to the magic she possesses . . . of a world where human women pursue the love of angels . . . and of a medieval legend who comes thrillingly to life. Four stories to delight and enchant; four rare talents destined to weave a web of magic that will leave you breathless.

Brenden Vetch has a gift. With an innate sense he cannot explain to himself or describe to others, he connects to the agricultural world, nurturing gardens to flourish and instinctively knowing the healing properties each plant and herb has to offer. But Brenden’s gift isolates him from people—and from becoming part of a community.Until the day he receives a personal invitation from the wizard Od. She needs a gardener for her school in the great city of Kelior, where every potential wizard must be trained to serve the Kingdom of Numis. For decades the rulers of Numis have controlled the school, believing they can contain the power within it—and punish any wizard who dares defy the law.But unknown to the reigning monarchy is the power possessed by the school’s new gardener—a power that even Brenden isn’t fully aware of, and which is the true reason Od recruited him...

Fantasy author Patricia A. McKillip, the 21st century's response to Hans Christian Andersen, has mastered the art of writing fairy tales -- as evidenced by previous works like The Tower at Stony Wood, Ombria in Shadow, and In the Forests of Serre. Alphabet of Thorn is yet another timeless fable suitable for children and adults alike. In the kingdom of Raine, a vast realm at the edge of the world, an orphaned baby girl is found by a palace librarian and raised to become a translator. Years later, the girl -- named Nepenthe -- comes in contact with a mysterious book written in a language of thorns that no one, not even the wizards at Raine's famous Floating School for mages, can decipher. The book calls out to Nepenthe's very soul, and she is soon privately translating its contents. As she works tirelessly transcribing the book -- which turns out to be about the historical figures of Axis, the Emperor of Night, and Kane, his masked sorcerer -- the kingdom of Raine is teetering on the brink of chaos. The newly crowned queen, a mousy 14-year old girl named Tessera who wants nothing to do with matters of state, hides in the woods as regents plot revolution. The queen's destiny, however, is intertwined with Nepenthe's ability to unravel the mystery of the thorns.

Le prince d''Ombria agonise, et déjà la cruelle régente, surnommée la Perle Noire, intrigue pour s''emparer du pouvoir. Kyel, l''héritier du trône, n''est encore qu''un enfant, et son cousin Duncan Greve un bâtard méprisé, qui passe son temps à peindre les rues de la cité décadente... Mais au-dessous des ruelles obscures s''étend une cité enfouie, un reflet spectral peuplé par les fantômes d''Ombria. C''est le royaume de la sorcière Faey et de sa création, Mag, une jeune fille aux traits sculptés dans la cire. Quelque part entre ombre et lumière, leurs destins s''assembleront comme les pièces d''un puzzle magique où se dessine le sort d''Ombria.

In the tales of World Fantasy Award-winning author Patricia McKillip, nothing is ever as it seems. A mirror is never just a mirror; a forest is never just a forest. Here, it is a place where a witch can hide in her house of bones and a prince can bargain with his heart...where good and evil entwine and wear each others' faces... and where a bird with feathers of fire can quench the fiercest longing...

Sorrow and trouble and bitterness will hound you and yours and the children of yours… Some said the dying words of Nial Lynn, murdered by his own son, were a wicked curse. To others, it was a winter’s tale spun by firelight on cold, dark nights. But when Corbet Lynn came to rebuild his family estate, memories of his grandfather’s curse were rekindled by young and old--and rumors filled the heavy air of summer. In the woods that border Lynn Hall, free-spirited Rois Melior roams wild and barefooted. And as autumn gold fades, she is consumed with Corbet Lynn, obsessed with his secret past…

When Ombria’s prince, Royce Greve, breathes his last—in palace rooms high above the city—he leaves his young son and mistress at the mercy of his ancient and powerful great-aunt, Domina Pearl. Meanwhile, in a dreamlike underworld peopled by Ombria’s ghosts, a sorceress weaves her spells and brews her potions, never revealing her real face—or true heart. And somewhere in between, the struggle to rule the whole of Ombria—both its light and shadows—will rest in the hands of those whose fractured lives align like the lost pieces of a magical puzzle….

She saw the knight in the mirror at sunset… During the wedding festivities of his king, Cyan Dag, a knight of Gloinmere, is sought out by a mysterious bard and told a terrifying tale: that the king has married a false queen—a lie cloaked in ancient and powerful sorcery. Spurred on by his steadfast honor and loyalty, Cyan departs on a dangerous quest to rescue the real queen from her tower prison, to prevent war, and to awaken magic in a land that has lost its way…

From the World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Bards of Bone Plain. Something half-woke in him, and he froze on the threshold, seeing misshapen faces billow in the flames. As a child, Rook had been taken in by the bards of Luly, and raised as one of their own. Of his past he knew nothing—except faint memoires of fire and death that he'd do anything to forget. But nightmares, and a new threat to the island that had become his own, would not let him escape the dreadful fate of his true family. Haunted by the music of the bards, he left the only home he knew to wander the land of the power-hungry Basilisk who had destroyed his family. And perhaps, finally, to find a future in the fulfillment of his forgotten destiny...

Face contre terre, le roi de Pelucir gît, démembré. Abandonné aux chiens. Dans le château, la reine expire en mettant au monde son second fils, Talis. Ombres, spectres fumants ! Depuis la catastrophe sanglante, tout n''est que cauchemar dans le petit royaume défait. Les murs calcinés du donjon grouillent de silhouettes meurtrières. Le Champ du Chasseur résonne encore du râle des mourants. Quel homme, quel sortilège hideux, ont déferlé sur la contrée, sur la vie, sur les rêves de ses habitants ? Atrix Wolfe, le mage légendaire, le loup Blanc, disparu depuis vingt ans ? Mage renégat... Impossible ! Et pourtant... La vérité pourrait bien se trouver dans le livre qu''Atrix Wolfe a enfoui à Chaumenard, au cœur du granit. Le mystérieux grimoire que parcourt aujourd''hui le prince Talis, derrière ses grosses lunettes...

Following The Sorceress and the Cygnet, Patricia A. McKillip returns with the sorceress Nyx and her niece Meguet. Together, the duo must face down a pair of mysterious magicals: a mage hell-bent on stealing a hidden treasure, and a firebird who transforms people and objects into precious materials. Each dawn, the firebird transforms into the form of a man, able to disappear into the surrounding town. As they seek out the true identity of the firebird and try to keep the powerful mage from achieving its ultimate prize, Nyx and Meguet set out on an adventure that will take them through various enchanted and alluring realms.

Il n''est jamais très bon, Corleu aux cheveux de lune, de se mêler des histoires de sorcières et de légendes... Et peut-être ne reverras-tu jamais ta tendre Tiel. Tu as franchi la porte interdite, dans la forêt, malgré les avertissements des tiens. Dans la Maison Noire est prisonnier le Roi d''Or. Il fallait l''y laisser, jeune Corleu. Si, en échange de Tiel et de tes compagnons, il exige de toi une terrible quête, tu ne l''as pas volé, avoue-le ! On pensait bien, au village, que tu étais un peu bizarre, avec tes cheveux de vieillard et ta manière de lire dans les étoiles... Tous ces enchantements sont dangereux. Nyx Ro, la magicienne du marais, prétend vouloir t''aider, mais elle se joue sans doute de toi, fragile mortel. Par Ro ! Dans quelle galère t''es-tu embarqué, Corleu ?