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486 pp
ISBN: 978-1-59102-693-8
Trade Paperback (6" x 9")
$15.98
October 2008
Cover Illustration: © Todd Lockwood
In a land ruled by prophecy and the whims of gods, a young man finds himself at the heart of a war he barely understands, wielding powers he may never be able to control.
Isak is a white-eye, born bigger, more charismatic, and more powerful than normal men. But with that power comes an unpredictable temper and an inner rage he cannot always hide. Brought up as a wagon-brat, feared and despised by those around him, he dreams of a place in the army and a chance to live his own life. But when the call comes, it isn’t to be a soldier, for the gods have other plans for the intemperate teenager: Isak has been chosen as heir-elect to the brooding Lord Bahl, the white-eye Lord of the Farlan.
The white-eyes were created by the gods to bring order out of chaos, for their magnetic charm and formidable strength makes them natural leaders of men. Lord Bahl is typical of the breed: he inspires and oppresses those around him in equal measure. He can be brusque and impatient, a difficult mentor for a boy every bit as volatile as he is.
But now is the time for the forging of empires. With mounting envy and malice, the men who would themselves be kings watch Isak, chosen by gods as flawed as the humans who serve them, as he is shaped and molded to fulfill the prophecies that circle him like scavenger birds. Divine fury and mortal strife is about to spill over and paint the world with blood.
The Stormcaller is the first book in a powerful new series that combines inspired world-building, epoch-shattering battles, and high emotion to dazzling effect.
Reviews:
“Let it sweep you up—or tiptoe through it, trying not to get drowned—and it offers rich rewards. Relish the reflections on everything from politics to feminist societies, lost gods, and manipulation of the supernatural. You may come to look at superheroes, elves, and perhaps dragons in an entirely new light.” —Locus
"It gallops along with scarcely a dull moment." —Lisa Tuttle, The Times
"Magical creatures and high speed action scenes... packed with detail without being too heavy. The Stormcaller shows how high the bar has been raised with its sheer vision and inventiveness." —SFX
"This first novel has good ideas and a suitably flawed hero. The world is beautifully realised, the battles suitably grim and the dragon, when it appears, is magnificent." —The Guardian
"A fantasy with the same magnificence of conception, the same sense of looming presences whose purposes are not ours to apprehend. Fragments of old stories which stud and sometimes drive his narrative are not just there as decoration or machinery. They are there to make this world seem deeper and darker than Lloyd's gloom ridden narrative allows."
—Time Out
"It is intelligently written with good characterization. Fans of fantasy will want to keep an eye out for Tom Lloyd." —Concatenation.org
"The world that Lloyd has created seems much more real than that of most fantasy books. He has created a fantasy world that has believable politics and is inhabited by large numbers of ordinary people." —Emerald City
"Lloyd creates a vivid world, which gradually comes alive and promises more for the future. [He] echoes writers such as Moorcock and Gemmell." —Interzone
"Stormcaller's magical land is far from the cosy backwater we've become so used to of late. A pretty confident first novel." —Dreamwatch
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