Archive for the ‘Lorina Stephens’ Category
A jealous ruler, a banished advisor, a misunderstood gift and a country being destroyed from within. Lorina Stephen’s From Mountains of Ice is a lovingly told story of rebellion and sacrifice, of love and fear.
In the 10 years since Sylvio’s banishment from the court of the young Prince Carmelo, he has made a life for himself and his wife Aletta in a rural village. Able to relax away from the problems of state, Sylvio would like nothing more than to retire to a quiet life of making bows by hand. A gifted bone speaker, he creates bows of the bones of the recently deceased. These bows speak to their users, and supernaturally protect their homelands. Sylvio doesn’t brag about his gift, but he doesn’t hide it either. Aletta on the other hand, is a gifted Strega, or truthsayer, a skill that is welcome anywhere she goes.
When Prince Carmelo demands Sylvio return to court, he and Aletta have every reason to be nervous. They travel with the village’s caravan to the capital city, only to be faced with ruinous taxes, foreign mercenaries, rumors of Carmelo’s waning sanity, and trade ambassadors with ambiguous alliances. With little warning, Sylvio and Aletta must decide who they can trust, and they must decide fast. Sylvio must choose: betray the prince he loves, or leave his countrymen behind to fend for themselves.
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