The Stormcaller (The Twilight Reign, Book 1) - Softcover

Tom Lloyd

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0575077271 ISBN 13: 9780575077270

Publisher: Gollancz, 2006

Synopsis

Isak is a white-eye, feared and despised in equal measure. Trapped in a life of poverty, hated and abused by his father, Isak dreams of escape, but when his chance comes, it isn't to a place in the army as he'd expected. Instead, the Gods have marked him out as heir-elect to the brooding Lord Bahl, the Lord of the Farlan. Lord Bahl is also a white-eye, a genetic rarity that produces men stronger, more savage and more charismatic than their normal counterparts. Their magnetic charm and brute strength both inspires and oppresses others. Now is the time for revenge, and the forging of empires. With mounting envy and malice, the men who would themselves be king watch Isak, chosen by Gods as flawed as the humans who serve them, as he is shaped and moulded to fulfil the prophecies that are encircling him like scavenger birds. The various factions jostle for the upper hand, and that means violence, but the Gods have been silent for too long and that violence is about to spill over and paint the world the colour of spilled blood and guts and pain and anguish ...

About this title

About the Author

Tom Lloyd has born in 1979, and spent most of his childhood believing his mother was a witch - a white witch. He followed his degree in Politics and International Relations with a series of jobs in publishing. When not writing, he works as a contracts manager for a major London literary agency.

Review

"It gallops along with scarcely a dull moment." -- Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES "This first novel has good ideas and a suitably flawed hero. The world is beautifully realised, the battles suitably grim and the dragon, when it appears, is magnificent." THE GUARDIAN "A fantasy with the same magnificence of conception, the same sense of looming presences whose purposes are not ours to apprehend. Fragments of old stories which stud and sometimes drive his narrative are not just there as decoration or machinery. They are there to make this world seem deeper and darker than Lloyd's gloom ridden narrative allows." -- Roz Kaveney TIME OUT "Magical creatures and high speed action scenes... packed with detail without being too heavy. The Stormcaller shows how high the bar has been raised with its sheer vision and inventiveness." SFX "As the book progresses, Lloyd's ball-juggling skills improve, and the plot becomes more coherent, his characters more convincing, and his story starts to grip. It'll be interesting to see how both author and series develop." STARBURST "It is intelligently written with good characterization. Fans of fantasy will want to keep an eye out for Tom Lloyd." CONCATENATION "The world that Lloyd has created seems much more real than that of most fantasy books. He has created a fantasy world that has believable politics and is inhabited by large numbers of ordinary people..." -- Cheryl Morgan EMERALD CITY "Lloyd creates a vivid world, which gradually comes alive and promises more for the future [He] echoes writers such as Moorcock and Gemmell." -- Ian Emsley INTERZONE "Stormcaller's magical land is far from the cosy backwater we've become so used to of late. A pretty confident first novel." DREAMWATCH "This stars Isak, a young man brought up as a 'wagon brat' in a world ruled by the whims of the gods, who have been inactive far too long. Though desperate to escape the fear and abuse, Isak finds himself chosen by the god to be his world's ruler, and facing murderous rivals. A wonderful bit of world building." MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS

Edition details

• Publisher: Gollancz
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0575077271
• ISBN 13: 9780575077270
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 438