About the Author

Alison Croggon is an award-winning Australian poet whose work has been published extensively in anthologies and magazines around the world. Her plays and opera libretti have been produced in Australia, and she is also an editor and critic. She began to write the books of Pellinor when her oldest son, Joshua, was reading fantasy. "I had forgotten how much I loved this stuff when I was a kid, and Josh's reading reminded me," she says. "My first real ambition as a child was to write a fantasy novel. One day I sat down and started writing a story. I had no idea what would happen, but one character appeared, and then another, and before long I had to finish the story to find out what happened." That story was THE NAMING. She says she was surprised by how the book seemed to unfold, already formed, before her. "Perhaps it's been waiting to be written for thirty years." Alison Croggon lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her playwright husband and their three children.

Reviews

Croggon's characters and environmental descriptions glow with a romantic sensibility and resonate beautifully with archetypal connections to Tolkien.
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

A challenging and fully realized epic adventure.
—School Library Journal, starred review

This Australian import is high fantasy of high caliber.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, The

Many fantasy fans will look forward to following Maerad's adventures in the next volumes of this fantasy quest.
—Booklist

Unbelievably fine, this book represents fantasy storytelling at its best. This exemplary novel is sure to appeal to all fantasy fans.
—Voice of Youth Advocates