GOOD NEWS! For those who think they have read everything by Rowena Cory Daniells’s – who has stopped by Fantasy-Faction to do a guest blog and an interview in the past – she has just signed a new deal that will see her original, difficult to get hold of trilogy, known as ‘Fall of Fair Isle’, released as a single omnibus edition in the UK & US in 2014/2015. The books, which were first published in 1999, have never been made available in the UK and were in fairly limited supply in the US too. In an extra bit of good news, Clint Langley, who did those awesome The Outcast Chronicles covers – which looked very much inspired by A Game of Thrones – will work with Solaris and Daniells again on the art for this volume.
Rowena says of the series:
The Fall of Fair Isle tells a more intimate tale than The Outcast Chronicles. It begins where most fantasy books finish – after the great battle.
After the Ghebites invade Fair Isle, Imoshen (named for her ancestor, Imoshen the First) is the last surviving member of the royal family. She has to work with General Tulkhan, the Ghebite invader, to save herself, her people and her way of life. Hers is a matriarchal society, his is a patriarchal society where the men can take three or four wives. The Ghebites fear the T’En, who they regard as closer to animals than True-men.
As for the T’En, when Imoshen the First led her people to this land, she told them to take partners from the locals, so that they would blend in and be accepted. The T’En inter-bred with the original inhabitants of Fair Isle, who were descended from the Ancients (a race of mystical beings) and their blood was diluted until there are very few pure T’En throwbacks. Six hundred years of this has changed the way the T’En gifts are expressed in full-bloods and half-bloods and much knowledge of old T’En lore has been lost. (They call the mystic plane, death’s shadow).
At the core of the trilogy is an exploration of gender politics, as Imoshen and Tulkhan try to find common ground. Despite their differences, they fall in love. To add to the complications, before the invasion Imoshen was betrothed to Reothe, the last of the T’En males. She broke her vows to him, to bond with General Tulkhan. Furious, Reothe leads the rebels in a bid to retake Fair Isle and claim Imoshen. She has to choose between Reothe, who wants to restore the T’En and create a new Golden Age and Tulkhan who is the best of True-men.
Rowena’s agent, John Jarrold, released a press release explaining that the new book will be re-edited for this edition by the same Solaris team that have worked with Rowena to see the success of both the KING ROLEN’S KIN trilogy and OUTCAST CHRONICLES trilogy, as well as KING BREAKER, which completed the story of King Rolen’s Kin.
CONGRATS TO ROWENA & SOLARIS from all at Fantasy-Faction 🙂
Jennie Ivins