The White Dragon (In Fire Forged, Part 1) - Hardcover

Resnick, Laura

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312890567 ISBN 13: 9780312890568

Publisher: Tor Books, 2003

Synopsis

By the author of In Legend Born

It is a time of vast changes in the island nation of Sileria. Oppressed for centuries by one conqueror after another, this land of fierce pride and ancient rivalries awaited the prophesied Firebringer, who would free them. Josarian, a mountain peasant, survived his leap into the volcano to become the Firebringer. He united the impoverished shallaheen, the magical fire-wielding Guardians, and the vastly powerful mages known as Waterlords in an unprecedented alliance that defeated the foreign Valdani who had ruled Sileria for too long. But now Josarian is dead, betrayed by the alliance and slain by the ice-dragon of Kiloran, the most powerful Waterlord in Sileria. Tansen, Josarian’s second-in-command, has taken up the banner of independence, and leads the shallaheen and the Guardians against the Waterlords so that Sileria can be free of a tyranny far worse than Valdani rule. As the volcano goddess Dar rumbles her displeasure in earthquakes and lava flows, the forces of fate, prophecy, and magic combine to create new heroes--from the desolate mountains, from the water-starved cities, from the sea, and even from beneath the earth. Ancient forces join with unlikely allies to fulfill the prophecies that inspire revolt and excite religious fervor. But in Sileria, betrayal has long been a way of life, and it wears many faces as the ambitions of the high and the low ensnare the fates of people across the land, wreaking havoc among the faithful.

With consummate narrative skill, Laura Resnick brings to life the excitement and adventure of this magical land in its epic struggle to find its true leaders, heal ancient wounds, and chart a path out of chaos to a new day of peace.

About this title

About the Author

Laura Resnick was born in Chicago, Illinois. A childhood of being thrown by horses, bitten by dogs, and terrorized by the Resnicks' notorious exploding water well helped prepare her adequately for her future in the publishing industry.

Resnick went on to study French, Italian, and linguistics at Georgetown, graduating cum laude. Shortly thereafter, she tramped around most of the Old World, looking at lots of cool paintings, working in France, and winding up on a kibbutz in Israel for a while. She studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in London, and spent a volatile but happy year teaching English at the University of Palermo in Italy.

By the time she was thirty, Resnick had sold a dozen romance novels, all but one of them written under the pseudonym Laura Leone, and Romantic Times magazine named her the best new writer in her genre. She then went on an overland journey across Africa. Everything you could ever want to know about that 8-month journey is recounted in the award-winning nonfiction book, A Blonde In Africa.

While she was in Africa, Resnick won the John W. Campbell Award as Best New Science Fiction/Fantasy Writer in recognition of the short stories she had been writing. Having thus warmed up her muscles, she wrote her first fantasy novel, In Legend Born -- a project which made crossing Africa overland seem easy by comparison.

From Publishers Weekly

Anyone who thinks that the career of John W. Campbell Award-winner Resnick gets its steam from having a father in the business had better think again. Even better than the author's first book, In Legend Born (2000), this romantic fantasy leaves no doubt that here is that rare gem: a new writer with serious and already polished talent. Resnick builds her tale on a solid foundation of consistent mythology and magic, well-rounded characters and a collection of completely believable cultures. When the warrior Tansen and the prophet Mirabar learn of the betrayal and death of their friend and goddess-blessed leader Josarian at the hands of their one-time allies Elelar and Kiloran, they must gather their wits and forces. As Tansen and Mirabar attempt to unite and free the eternally feuding and conquered people of Sileria for the first time in a thousand years, their steps are dogged by Zarien, an earnest young man convinced that Tansen is the destined consort for a sea-goddess who saved Zarien's life. These characters curse, bargain with and defy the deities who attempt to guide their lives, taking control of their destinies in an utterly human way even as ominous portents shine in the sky and a holy mountain begins to crack open. A suspenseful mix of vague prophecies, startling revelations, constantly shifting loyalties and the occasional divine intervention, this stunning novel tantalizes right up to the last cliffhanger page.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0312890567
• ISBN 13: 9780312890568
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 512