Just Arrived: “Winter Be My Shield” by Jo Spurrier
I have had this book for a few weeks now but because of trips away to Natcon, returning home to ‘heap big snow’, together with the general blog round, I have only gotten round to featuring it now.
Winter be My Shield (Harper Voyager) is the debut novel of Australian author, Jo Spurrier, and the first in her “Children of the Black Sun” series. The back cover describes it as epic fantasy and in addition to the title, the cover art and backcover blurb make it clear that this is a winter world.
Hands up those of you who, like me, love winter worlds?
Plus there’s a cover quote from Robin Hobb—and given she loved The Heir of Night as well, I think that has to augur well, don’t you? But enough of that, here’s the quote:
′Unlikely heroes, villains you will cheer for, and cold that eats your bones. WINTER BE MY SHIELD will take you to an unforgiving place, but you won′t want to leave it.′ ~ Robin Hobb
Meanwhile, the back cover has this to say:
“… Sierra has a despised and forbidden gift — she raises power from the suffering of others. Enslaved by the king′s torturer, Sierra escapes, barely keeping ahead of Rasten, the man sent to hunt her down. Then she falls in with dangerous company: the fugitive Prince Cammarian and his crippled foster-brother, Isidro.
But Rasten is not the only enemy hunting them in the frozen north and as Sierra′s new allies struggle to identify friend from foe, Rasten approaches her with a plan to kill the master they both abhor. Sierra is forced to decide what price she is willing to pay for her freedom and her life …”
Waddya reckon, time to get reading? And with any luck, Ms Spurrier might even be up for an interview…