The Black Beast

Description

In Nancy Springer's enthralling fourth volume of the Book of Isle, two young princes set out to destroy their own father and the pervasive evil that poisons the kingdom An epic saga set in an ageless island stronghold of magic and mystery, Nancy Springer's Book of Isle series is considered by many to be among the most accomplished offerings in all of fantasy literature, as lyrical and inventive as the classic works of J. R. R. Tolkien. In this unforgettable novel, a violent rift in a royal house threatens to tear an entire kingdom asunder. The next in line to rule the troubled realm of Melior, Prince Tirell gave his heart to the gentle and beautiful peasant girl Mylitta. But she died at the cruel whim of Tirell's father, the king, who insists on a more politically expedient match for his rebellious son. Since the murder of his love, Tirell's heart has hardened, and now, with the aid of his younger brother, Frain, the healer, he seeks an army that will help him defeat the evil, unrepentant monarch. All hope for victory in the war to come awaits the brothers somewhere deep in the mysteries of the Vale, where a beautiful goddess also dwells. But a sinister presence is spreading its malevolence throughout the land-and Melior can never again be truly whole until the kingdom is rid of the terrible scourge of the Black Beast.

Nancy Springer has passed the fifty-book milestone with novels for adults, young adults, and children, in genres including mythic fantasy, contemporary fiction, magic realism, horror, and mystery-although she did not realize she wrote mystery until she won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America two years in succession. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Springer moved with her family to Gettysburg, of Civil War fame, when she was thirteen. She spent the next forty-six years in Pennsylvania, raising two children (Jonathan and Nora), writing, horseback riding, fishing, and bird-watching. In 2007 she surprised her friends and herself by moving with her second husband to an isolated area of the Florida Panhandle where the bird-watching is spectacular, and where, when fishing, she occasionally catches an alligator.

"Nancy Springer writes like a dream." -St. Louis Post-Dispatch "[Nancy Springer is] someone special in the fantasy field." -Anne McCaffrey