The Outskirter's Secret - Softcover

Kirstein, Rosemary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345368851 ISBN 13: 9780345368850

Publisher: Del Rey, 1992

Synopsis

Determined to learn the truth about the Guidestars--two points of light that hang motionless in the sky--Rowan sets out into the Outskirts, where barbarian tribes and the land itself could destroy her. Original.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Rowan, the heroine of Kirstein's previous novel, The Steerswoman , continues her adventures in the second installment of this fantasy trilogy. After the first book, in which Rowan learned that wizards control the navigational satellites known as Guidestars, she sets off with her friend, the Outskirter named Bel, into Outskirter territory to locate a Guidestar that had crashed to the earth. While on her quest, Rowan fulfills her duties as a steerswoman, observing and recording all that she can of the medieval Outskirt world. On their journey, the pair overcomes goblins, barbaric warriors and inclement weather. The world Kirstein creates is captivating in its gritty descriptions and realistic culture: we learn, for example, that the nomadic Outskirters roll their bread from goat's entrails. The novel reads like a fantasy, but there are hints that Rowan's world was pre-dated by a more advanced society: perhaps the "magic" that the wizards use to control the Guidestars is some vestige of high technology. Though the plot wanders occasionally, readers will no doubt be pleased by this installment and eager for its sequel.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Del Rey
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0345368851
• ISBN 13: 9780345368850
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 333