The army marched its way to the doors of Elcho falling, and Maximilian and Ravenna saw, as if they stood only feet away, the man of darkness reach forward and pound his fist on the gates.
They will not open for him, said Maximilian.
They shall, said Ravenna.
The gates shrieked, and opened, and Maximilian saw Ishbel creep forth on her hands and knees, weeping.
The man of darkness reached down to her and lifted her left had, and Maximilian saw the Queen’s ring gleaming on Ishbel’s fourth finger.
:You have delivered to me Elcho Falling,” said the man of darkness to Ishbel, “and have sent its Lord into death. You have done well.”
As Ishbel and Maximilian, ride for Serpent’s Nest in the North to resurrect Elcho Falling, deep in the South the One is emerging form DarkGlass Mountain. He will stop at nothing to bring the downfall of Ishbel and Maximilian – and of Elcho falling. But The one is not the only enemy the pair have to face. Maximilian has command of a huge army, but within its ranks are traitors –those who don’t believe n him, and those who want to control Elcho Falling. Ravenna, who has been Maximilian’s friend, now seems to be against him. She has had a vision which shows Ishbel at the centre of Elcho falling’s demise – and if she can’t get Maximilian to believe her, then she will destroy him, too.
The Twisted Citadel is the second epic instalment in the DarkGlass Mountain trilogy and brings together the cast of its predecessor The Serpent Bride, though not all in the same alliances, as well as new characters, to continue the story of Elcho Falling and of Maxel (Maximilian) and Ishbel.
This is fantasy as it should be – with a well-defined world, an awesome cast of people and races, and twists and turn aplenty. Readers will be left wanting more – and eagerly waiting the third and final chapter of the story.
Awesome.
The Twisted Citadel, by Sara Douglass
Harper Collins, 2008
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