Legend of Paksenarrion
4 primary works
Book 1
A death has made Kieri Phelan king of Lyona. Here humans and elves live in uneasy peace, united only by their failure to see the dangers at their borders. Harmony has never been more important - or elusive. But will Kieri's soldier background allow him to navigate these difficult politics? And can he awaken the powers his mixed blood confers?
An older evil also threatens, affecting not just Lyona but all surrounding kingships. The Verrakai family has been practicing forbidden blood magic for generations, and its scions are becoming bold. When they infiltrate a foreign court and assassinate key nobles, it's clear they must be controlled or eradicated. Phelan will send Dorrin, the only Verrakai he can truly trust, on this mission. She must overcome her abhorrence of the power that is her birthright and awaken her own hidden magic. This will lead to secrets and a mystery that neither Phelan nor Dorrin could have anticipated.
Book 2
King Kieri's realm has been destabilised by political wrangling and his court is blind to the dangers - until an assassination attempt on their king. And when this backfires, Kieri's enemies start planning an invasion using dragonfire, a force unseen for hundreds of years.
In King Mikeli's adjoining kingdom, his crown is threatened by a bandit prince. Alured the Black claims his lineage gives him dominion over all the lands. His ambition is boundless, his methods are ruthless and he will not be swayed from his goal, whether or not it undermines a region already on the brink of war. Dark mages also watch for weakness and hunger for their own lost powers.
The Kings of the North must plan wisely, as disaster is a sword's breadth away.
Book 4
The unthinkable has occurred in the kingdom of Lyonya. The queen of the Elves—known as the Lady—is dead, murdered by former elves twisted by dark powers. Now the Lady’s half-elven grandson must heal the mistrust between elf and human before their enemies strike again. Yet as he struggles to make ready for an attack, an even greater threat looms across the Eight Kingdoms.
Throughout the north, magic is reappearing after centuries of absence, emerging without warning in family after family—rich and poor alike. In some areas, the religious strictures against magery remain in place, and fanatical followers are stamping out magery by killing whoever displays the merest sign of it—even children. And as unrest spreads, one very determined traitor works to undo any effort at peace—no matter how many lives it costs. With the future hanging in the balance, it is only the dedication of a few resolute heroes who can turn the tides . . . if they can survive.
Praise for Limits of Power
“It’s easy to become fully immersed in, and absorbed by, the narrative: [Moon’s] great strength lies in the patient accumulation of telling detail, yielding an extraordinarily rich picture of the world’s politics, philosophy, military structure, history, magic and alien cultures, where men and women stand as equals even in force of arms.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Thoughtful and deeply character driven, full of personal crises as heartbreaking and hopeful as any dramatic invasion . . . Moon deftly avoids big literary explosions, preferring instead a slow boil that builds pressure without relief. There are plots within plots, but the complex story is never confusing. Fantasy fans will be delighted by this impressive foray.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for Elizabeth Moon
“This is an excellent series, and Echoes of Betrayal is particularly well done. [Elizabeth Moon is a] consistently entertaining writer, and this book lives up to her standards.”—San Jose Mercury News
“Moon’s characters navigate an intricate maze of alliances and rivalries. . . . Close attention to military detail gives the action convincing intensity.”—The Star-Ledger, on Kings of the North
“A triumphant return to the fantasy world she created . . . No one writes fantasy quite like Moon.”—The Miami Herald, on Oath of Fealty
Book 5
Acclaimed author Elizabeth Moon spins gripping, richly imagined epic fantasy novels that have earned comparisons to the work of such authors as Robin Hobb and Lois McMaster Bujold. In this volume, Moon’s brilliant masterwork reaches its triumphant conclusion.
The mysterious reappearance of magery throughout the land has been met with suspicion, fear, and violence. In the kingdom of Lyonya, Kieri, the half-elven, half-human king, struggles to balance the competing demands of his heritage while fighting a deadly threat to his rule: evil elves linked in some way to the rebirth of magic.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia, a set of ancient artifacts recovered by the former mercenary Dorrin Verrakai may hold the answer to the riddle of magery’s return. Thus Dorrin embarks on a dangerous quest to return these relics of a bygone age to their all-but-mythical place of origin. What she encounters there will change her in unimaginable ways—and spell doom or salvation for the entire world.
Praise for Crown of Renewal
“Mesmerizing . . . [Elizabeth] Moon offers convincingly realized characters persuasively shaped by the extraordinary richness, depth and texture of the world they inhabit. . . . Such is the allure of an extremely talented writer at the the height of her powers.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Elves, demons, warped magicians, ancient artifacts, time travel, and an agrarian-based society make for an evocative story. . . . The depth of each character’s emotions . . . show the author’s writing power.”—Booklist
Praise for Elizabeth Moon
Limits of Power
“Thoughtful and deeply character driven, full of personal crises as heartbreaking and hopeful as any dramatic invasion . . . Fantasy fans will be delighted by this impressive foray.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Echoes of Betrayal
“This is an excellent series, and Echoes of Betrayal is particularly well done. [Moon is a] consistently entertaining writer, and this book lives up to her standards.”—San Jose Mercury News
“Rousing action and intriguing plot twists.”—Kirkus Reviews
Kings of the North
“Moon’s characters navigate an intricate maze of alliances and rivalries. . . . Close attention to military detail gives the action convincing intensity.”—The Star-Ledger
“Her storytelling is as electrifying as ever, and her readers should be delighted with this new vista of a well-known world.”—Booklist