The Blood of Winterhold [3 1/2 Diskette, HTML]

As in the first novel, blood plays a key role in the lives of the people who inhabit the plant locked in perpetual winter. A young novice Interpreter is brought from the far North to the Hold by the Queen's own bodyguard. She takes a special interest in his welfare and his future. The Queen sees him only as one more despised Interpreter to force her through her daily round of stifling Rituals.

He becomes enmeshed in the violent political and social battles which riddle the Hold. Revolutionaries try to tear apart the ancient social fabric, while the aristocracy attempts to preserve it. And the Interpreters use both factions to further their own ends.

When he finds out the truth concerning his birth, he must struggle even more to free himself from the meshes of both Hold and Camp. As the son of the Queen and the consort, he is heir to the divided throne of Winterhold; an extremely dangerous position to occupy.

After a furious battle between the revolutionaries and the aristocracy, he leaves the Hold for the Waste. He flees both to preserve his life and to discover just who he is and what he must do. Blood determines his heritage, and he must struggle against the shadow it casts over his life.

Stephen Almekinder has a variety of experience as a writer. He received a finalist certificate from the Writers of the Future Contest for one of his short stories. He wrote a radio play which was produced and aired. He adapted the science fiction novel Nova, by Samuel R. Delany, into a screenplay with the permission of the author. And one of his short stories was published in a science fiction/fantasy magazine, Once Upon A World, in 1997. The Blood of Winterhold is a sequel to Winterhold. He plans to continue the saga, since there are many other stories yet to be told.