Promotional Information

Desire and magic can both drawn blood.

About the Author

Sarah Micklem had jobs in a restaurant, printing plant, sign shop, and refugee resettlement agency before discovering that graphic design was an enjoyable way to make a living. She wrote Firethorn while working as an art director for children's magazines in New York City. She lives with her husband, poet and playwright Cornelius Eady, in Washington, DC, where she is writing the second book of the Firethorn trilogy.

Reviews

'A sweeping adventure saga as mystical as it is raw! this hypnotic tale of passion and survival will resonate with sophisticated readers of both sexes.' Publishers Weekly 'Gritty, sinewy, exceptionally well researched and highly impressive.' Kirkus Reviews

'A sweeping adventure saga as mystical as it is raw! this hypnotic tale of passion and survival will resonate with sophisticated readers of both sexes.' Publishers Weekly 'Gritty, sinewy, exceptionally well researched and highly impressive.' Kirkus Reviews

In this first volume of a new fantasy trilogy, debut author Micklem has created a credible world of highborn lords, lowborn mudpeople, and 12 gods who like to play with the lives of their worshipers. After the god Ardor bestows her with special abilities (including healing talents and the skill to see at night without torches), a young drudge renames herself Firethorn. Discontent with her place in the caste system, she leaves her village with Sire Galan, a highborn lord on his way to fight the king's war. The naive Firethorn believes that her life will be better as his consort, but she discovers only a different type of subservience. Galan turns out to be an impetuous man, making a wager that leads to fighting among the clans. Attempting to stop the bloodshed that follows, Firethorn uses her gifts and learns the price of vengeance; she is willing to follow Galan into war and quite possibly to her death. Micklem has brought to life a realistic, medieval world of love and war. This reviewer is eagerly awaiting the next volume. Highly recommended.-Deborah Shippy, Moline P.L., IL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.