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As a kingdom descends into darkness and new alliances are forged under fire, a battle begins over a prophecy that will change the course of history in this much-anticipated stand-alone prequel to the bestselling Queen of the Tearling trilogy.
The Tearling, founded as a utopia, has collapsed and reverted to feudalism. As the gap between rich and poor widens and famine threatens the land, rumors of a prophecy begin to spread: a great hope, a True Queen who will ascend and save the kingdom.
But rumors will not help Lazarus, a boy on the verge of manhood, trapped in the clandestine underworld known as the Creche. Enlisted from his earliest days to kill without mercy, he has never seen sun or sky, not until a quest for vengeance propels him aboveground. There he finds a calling amid a royal court rife with intrigue and danger, where he meets Niya, Princess Elyssa’s handmaid, who is not who she appears to be and whose true identity will spell death if revealed.
With a righteous rebellion gathering inside her kingdom, Princess Elyssa finds herself torn between duty to the throne and her growing loyalty to the Blue Horizon, a group of fierce idealists who promise radical change. Elyssa must choose quickly, for threats beset her on all sides, and the powers wielded by an uncanny seer and her shadowy master are preparing to decide the Princess’s fate for her. It is only a matter of time before Lazarus, Niya, and Elyssa will be called into the service of something greater than they have ever imagined: the fight for a better world.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 2, 2021 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781524742737
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781524742737
- File size: 3275 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from January 1, 2021
Johansen takes readers back to the world of the Tearling with a stand-alone novel set 20 years before the events in The Queen of the Tearling (2014). It is a time of drought, famine, and civil unrest. The aristocracy have no sense of noblesse oblige, the church is run by hypocrites, and the queen rules through fear and intimidation. Princess Elyssa is nothing like her mother and hopes she can become her people's prophesied True Queen. Her dream of saving her kingdom and providing justice for all will be immutably impacted--for good or ill--by a brutal young slave with aspirations of escaping to freedom and a deviously callous procurer with designs on the throne. The story considers the nature of forgiveness, the use and abuse of power, and the morality of right and wrong as characters develop in unexpected ways. The dramatic climax will have readers questioning who the real hero is at the end of this compelling tale of epic fantasy. Series fans will be intrigued to discover the background details of individuals who are pivotal to events in the trilogy, and those new to the series will want to find out what comes next.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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