The Elvenbane: An Epic High Fantasy of the Halfblood Chronicles - Hardcover

Norton, Andre; Lackey, Mercedes

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312851065 ISBN 13: 9780312851064

Publisher: Tor Books, 1991

Synopsis

Born in the desert to an exiled concubine and raised by dragons, Shana becomes a wizard of extraordinary power and leads a rebellion against the cruel elven empire ruled by her father

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

A collaborative effort from fantasy grande dame Norton and relative newcomer Lackey (the paperback Magic's Price), this tale of magic and intrigue offers a mixture of standard genre elements and an engaging plot. When Serina Daeth, favorite concubine of the Elf-Lord Dyran, conceives a half-blood child by him, she flees his wrath into the desert, where she quickly succumbs. But the child, born in Serina's dying moments, is rescued by a friendly dragon and raised with her own draconic brood. As the child Shana grows, she develops prodigious sorcerous powers--so strong that it seems she might be the fabled Elvenbane, powerful enough to free the enslaved humans from their elven oppressors. The dragons come to fear her unplumbed power, though, and cast her out. With a renegade elf-lord and his half-blood servant, and the aid of her remaining dragon friends, Shana prepares to challenge the elfish supremacy. Though battle is joined, a sequel is plainly on the way. Thoroughly rooted in genre traditions--with elves, dragons, unicorns, and sorcerers--but some variations make it more enjoyable than the average example: theses elves and unicorns, for instance, are cruel and dangerous, where in most fantasies they are shining examples of superhuman purity. Overall, then, despite shallow characters and a lack of real tension (we never doubt that Shana and friends will succeed), an entertaining adventure. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

SF master Norton ( The Crystal Gryphon and the Witch World series) and her new collaborator Lackey ( Arrows of the Queen and subsequent volumes of the Valdemar series) have produced a fine coming-of-age adventure in which a decadent elven society maintains a cruel, avaricious control over the shattered remnants of humanity while shape-changing dragons covertly observe. Pregnant with a half-breed child, a human concubine of the almost immortal elven Lord Dyran flees into the desert to avoid death. She is found by the dragon Alara, a shaman herself heavy with egg. Although the concubine dies, Alara saves the child Shana and brings her home to foster with her own son Keman. When Shana reaches adulthood and is cast out by conservative dragons, she learns the extent of her magical abilities. Aided by Keman and her full-elven half-brother, Dyran's heir, she leads a revolt by the other hidden half-breeds against the tyranny of the elves. With excellent evocations of dragon lore and society, this tale will rank as one of the season's liveliest and most appealing fantasy epics.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0312851065
• ISBN 13: 9780312851064
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 390