Lightstone, The: Ninth Kingdom, The (Book 1 Of The Ea Cycle)

Description:
From the author of Neverness comes a powerful new epic fantasy series. The Ea Cycle is as rich as Tolkien and as magical as the Arthurian myths. The world of Ea is an ancient world settled in eons past by the Star People. However, their ancestors floundered, in their purpose to create a great stellar civilisation on the new planet: they fell into moral decay. Now a champion has been born who will lead them back to greatness, by means of a spiritual -- and adventurous -- quest for Ea's Grail: the Lightstone. His name is Valashu Elahad, and he is destined to become King. Blessed (or cursed?) with an empathy for all living things, he will lead his people into the lands of Morjin, into the heart of darkness, wielding a magical sword called Alkadadur, there to recover the mythical Lightstone and return in triumph with his prize. But Morjin is not to be vanquished so easily!

Review:
'Remarkable for its scale, ambition and a capacity to evoke a sinister beauty ! an impressive start to an interesting cycle' AMAZON 'Every so often a novel comes along that threatens to redefine its sub-genre. The Lightstone is such a novel ! Zindell re-imagines the epic on a grand scale. Each of his characters is meticulously created ! The Lightstone shines brightly within the world of fantasy.' DREAMWATCH 'David Zindell has imbued The Lightstone with a descriptive richness. His words are like magic, which manage to capture the tiniest nuances of his landscapes and characters and bring them to life ! If you want something that will make you think, that touches on elements of spirituality and philosophy and the fine lines between good and evil then The Lightstone is a winner' WHSMITH.CO.UK Praise for Neverness: 'Zindell makes you think' New Scientist 'Philip K. Dick would have been proud to conjure up such philiosophies' Manchester Evening News 'A thick, lush, vivid, panoramic view of evolved humans in an evolving universe far in the future' Twilight Zone 'Excellent hard science fiction! a brilliant novel' Orson Scott Card, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

Author Biography:
David Zindell's short story Shanidar was a prize-winning entry in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest. He was nominated for the 'best new writer' Hugo Award in 1986. Gene Wolfe declared Zindell as 'one of the finest talents to appear since Kim Stanley Robinson and William Gibson -- perhaps the finest.' His first novel, Neverness, was published to great acclaim.