The Diviner

by Melanie Rawn

Overview

Bestselling author Melanie Rawn's triumphant return to high fantasy.

The only survivor of royal treachery that eliminates his entire family, Azzad al-Ma'aliq flees to the desert and dedicates himself to vengeance. With the help of the Shagara, a nomadic tribe of powerful magicians, he will finally be able to take his revenge - but at what cost?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101548660
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	08/02/2011
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	604,340
File size:	556 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Melanie Rawn, the author of DAW’s bestselling Dragon Prince trilogy—Dragon Prince, The Star Scroll, and Sunrunner’s Fire—is a second-generation Californian who, after graduating from Scripps College with a B.A. in history, worked as a teacher and editor while writing her first two novels. She lives in a small town outside Los Angeles and keeps cacti as pets. She can be found at melanierawn.com.

Editorial Reviews

Rawn weaves a rich tapestry of war, magic, and relationships in this historical fantasy prequel to 1996's The Golden Key. The Sheyqa Nizzira, despotic ruler of a Middle East–flavored land in the year 611, has meticulously planned to wipe out a large family of her rivals, murdering them down to the smallest child. When young wastrel Azzad al-Ma'alique misses his date with doom and flees, he sets in motion a complex revenge plot that will change the future of many lands and generations of both families. Gripping events build to a mid-book climax, but tension drops sharply in the second half, with a less clear trajectory and a sometimes bewildering array of characters. Toward the end, both the pace and the clarity pick up, though the developments feel less organic and more calculated. Rawn at her best remains a mesmerizing writer, and there is some of her best here. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"A tale of loyalty, treachery, and love.... The author’s large readership as well as lovers of epic fantasy should enjoy this stand-alone prequel." — Library Journal, Starred Review

"Rawn weaves a rich tapestry of war, magic, and relationships in this historical fantasy prequel to 1996's The Golden Key.... Rawn at her best remains a mesmerizing writer." — Publishers Weekly

"Superb.... This book is a prequel to The Golden Key (1996) yet stands on its own merits and will delight anyone who enjoys reading about chivalry, the Middle East, and a genetic mutation that allows some to harness magic in ways that are carefully guarded." — Booklist

"Melanie Rawn is an amazingly talented writer who is capable of some of the most direct and clearest fantasy writing I've had the pleasure of reading in quite some time." — Seattle Post-Intelligencer

From the Publisher

"Melanie Rawn is an amazingly talented writer who is capable of some of the most direct and clearest fantasy writing I've had the pleasure of reading in quite some time."

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Superb.... This book is a prequel to The Golden Key (1996) yet stands on its own merits and will delight anyone who enjoys reading about chivalry, the Middle East, and a genetic mutation that allows some to harness magic in ways that are carefully guarded."

Booklist

As the only survivor of the massacre of his entire family by the ambitious Sheyqa Nizzira, Azzad Al-Ma'aliq flees into the desert, vowing vengeance. Finding favor and protection with a tribe of healers and talisman makers, Azzad defers his ambition in favor of a home and material wealth. When he finally strikes back, all seems accomplished—but the repercussions carry down to another generation, to his son Alessid. Rawn's prequel to 1996's The Golden Key marks her return to the high fantasy of her "Dragon Prince" (Dragon Prince; The Star Scroll; Sunrunner's Fire) and "Dragon Star" (Stronghold; The Dragon Token; Skybowl) series. VERDICT The desert setting and Arabian-Bedouin cultural trappings lend an exotic touch to a tale of loyalty, treachery, and love. The author's large readership as well as lovers of epic fantasy should enjoy this stand-alone prequel.

Library Journal