Air and Darkness
A Novel
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Air and Darkness, an intriguing and fantastic adventure, is both an independent novel and the gripping conclusion of the Books of the Elements, a four-volume set of fantasies set in Carce, an analog of ancient Rome by David Drake.
Here the stakes are raised from the previous novels in an ultimate conflict between the forces of logic and reason and the forces of magic and the supernatural. During the extraordinary time in which this story is set, the supernatural is dominant. The story is an immensely complex journey of adventure through real and magical places.
Corylus, a soldier, emerges as one of the most compelling heroic figures in contemporary fantasy. Battling magicians, spirits, gods, and forces from supernatural realities, Corylus and his companions from the family of the nobleman Saxa-especially Saxa's impressive wife Hedia, and his friend (and Saxa's son) Varus-must face constant deadly and soul-destroying dangers, climaxing in a final battle not between good and evil but in defense of logic and reality.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Drake concludes his Books of the Elements series (after Monsters of the Earth) with this involved and intriguing fourth tale of interwoven heroic journeys, both in the Waking World and in the Otherworld. The book opens in Carce, a fictional city and empire that takes the place of Rome, with mater-familias Hedia participating in a rural family rite. She is observed both by her young-adult stepson, Varus, and a contingent from India who have come to plant a vine. When the Indians walk through a mysterious red lens in the air and disappear, Varus and Hedia follow. Soon after, Varus's 16-year-old sister, Alphena, and friend Corylus mount a search for the missing. The travels of all four diverge and intersect, with time spent near Carce, in India, and in the mystical realm of the Otherworld. Magical creatures and artifacts are sprinkled along the way as the heroes must counteract the threat of the chaotic revelry of Bacchus and the frightening scourge of the Blight. The whole tale strongly recalls that of Odysseus and other mythological travelers through underworlds, and fans of such stories will enjoy Drake's take.
