'Winterhued' by E H Alger.
Available from Amazon and all good bookstores.
Available from Amazon and all good bookstores.
IN A LAND on the edge of all that is known dwells Princess Winterhued - erudite, beautiful, broken-hearted.
The heir to her father's kingdom and raised to be queen, she is troubled by terrifying dreams and now finds the half-demented king turning against her.
Slimy sycophants whisper in his ear, persuading him that a 'mere woman' is incapable of ruling, and now he ogles the princess's ladies-in-waiting and boasts of begetting a male heir.
But Winterhued' s fears become as naught when a vast and ancient being comes flying on dread wings to lay siege to Castle Lawhill. Trailing fear and slaughter, it traps Winterhued and her people within the broken walls.
The princess strives to save her subjects, but it seems the only one courageous enough to help her is the lowliest servant-boy in the castle.
Yet from the east, riding across wraith-haunted Iron Crag, comes a nameless knight, exiled and condemned, and a horned creature follows him, silent as moonlight...
The heir to her father's kingdom and raised to be queen, she is troubled by terrifying dreams and now finds the half-demented king turning against her.
Slimy sycophants whisper in his ear, persuading him that a 'mere woman' is incapable of ruling, and now he ogles the princess's ladies-in-waiting and boasts of begetting a male heir.
But Winterhued' s fears become as naught when a vast and ancient being comes flying on dread wings to lay siege to Castle Lawhill. Trailing fear and slaughter, it traps Winterhued and her people within the broken walls.
The princess strives to save her subjects, but it seems the only one courageous enough to help her is the lowliest servant-boy in the castle.
Yet from the east, riding across wraith-haunted Iron Crag, comes a nameless knight, exiled and condemned, and a horned creature follows him, silent as moonlight...
'Lavishly conceived and vividly described, Winterhued brings to life all that is intriguing and picturesque about medieval life subtly interwoven with magic, romance and a dash of poetic wistfulness. Alger's debut novel
is a triumph!'
- Cecilia Dart-Thornton, author of The Bitterbynde Trilogy.
‘In her debut, Alger evokes dreamy classics, such as Lord Dunsany’s 1924 novel, The King of Elfland’s Daughter, while blessing her characters with a modern wit that lets them stand beside figures created by Neil Gaiman. Fantasy fans will consistently enjoy the lyrical prose...
An epic fantasy marked by passionate prose
and courageous characters.’
- Kirkus Reviews
‘Winterhued by E H Alger is a tale in an epic tradition. Writing in beautiful lyrical prose, Alger has succeeded in creating a world of rare beauty...
No book I have read recently has given me greater joy than Winterhued.’
- Elise McCune, author of Castle of Dreams.
‘The author writes with a poetic beauty and draws the reader to the climax. There is enough mystery in the plot to surprise the reader with its twists. Well written, this fantasy tale is fascinating and woven with trust, despair, spite, anger, and hope... I would willingly read any work from this author, confident I would enjoy it.’
- Peggy Jo Wipf, for Readers’ Favorite
is a triumph!'
- Cecilia Dart-Thornton, author of The Bitterbynde Trilogy.
‘In her debut, Alger evokes dreamy classics, such as Lord Dunsany’s 1924 novel, The King of Elfland’s Daughter, while blessing her characters with a modern wit that lets them stand beside figures created by Neil Gaiman. Fantasy fans will consistently enjoy the lyrical prose...
An epic fantasy marked by passionate prose
and courageous characters.’
- Kirkus Reviews
‘Winterhued by E H Alger is a tale in an epic tradition. Writing in beautiful lyrical prose, Alger has succeeded in creating a world of rare beauty...
No book I have read recently has given me greater joy than Winterhued.’
- Elise McCune, author of Castle of Dreams.
‘The author writes with a poetic beauty and draws the reader to the climax. There is enough mystery in the plot to surprise the reader with its twists. Well written, this fantasy tale is fascinating and woven with trust, despair, spite, anger, and hope... I would willingly read any work from this author, confident I would enjoy it.’
- Peggy Jo Wipf, for Readers’ Favorite
~ An extract from the book:
'Winterhued was as cold as death. Her tears froze as they fell, whirling in the bitter wind like shards of glass. She stood atop a vertiginous rock at the edge of the world, a place where nothing was remembered and tales were never told, and gazed through her tears at the mountain range that stretched to her right and to her left, further than eyes could see. Upon its precipitous flanks, half a league below her feet, an ocean of clouds broke like waves against a cliff.... Winterhued did not know why she stood alone at the verge of the world. She did not know why her tears flowed and her heart ached. She could not recall whether she’d been here for a moment or for an eternity, but she knew that time meant nothing in this place. Beneath the beat of the sun and the slow blink of the moon, pounded by the immense ocean of air that ebbs and flows like sea-tides above the world, these iron escarpments endured, unheeding and unseen.’ |
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