Search Worlds Without End

Katharine Kerr's richly imagined cycle of novels set in Deverry and the Westlands has earned a devoted following--and a reputation as the finest Celtic fantasy being written today. Now she returns to Deverry's war-ravaged past....

In a kingdom torn by civil war, young Lillorigga seeks to shield her dawning powers from her cruel mother Merodda's manipulation. Mistress of a magic that, untamed, could kill her, Lilli brings her terrifying visions under the kindlier tutelage of the mysterious dweomermaster, Nevyn. But soon she must choose between her own clan and the true king who fights to claim his rightful throne, between sanctuary and blood feud, loyalty and love. Little does she dream that the slaughter she invites, and the malevolence she defies, could stalk her across the ages...twisting and twining the strands of timeless destinies.

For the devoted followers of the dazzling Deverry and Westlands cycle, Katharine Kerr continues the magical epic saga she began in The Red Wyvern.

The Black Raven

Her latest tale shifts effortlessly between the shattered lands of the Rhiddaer and Dun Deverry itself. At the historic end of the Civil Wars, Lilli, newly apprenticed to the dweomer, fights with her untried powers to save her beloved Prince Maryn from evil. Centuries later, in the city of Cerr Cawnen, the old evil awakens yet again when the sorceress Raena schemes to destroy Rhodry Maelwaedd, her bitter enemy during life after life. But her malice will draw the intervention of astral powers--and unleash the ravaging rage of Rhodry's guardian dragon. Only another untried dweomer can buy safety for the city and the berserker himself--and only at a most fearsome price....

Katharine Kerr has enchanted readers with her magical Deverry and Westlands cycle, and now she brings to a breathtaking conclusion the epic saga begun with The Red Wyvern and The Black Raven.

The final chapter begins in the holy city as it rises from the ashes of Deverry's long wars. Prince Maryn prepares to claim the high kingship, but still the rebel Boar clan stands fast against him. And at court, his illicit passion for the young dweomer apprentice, Lilli, threatens to revive a curse that only she -- at her own peril -- can lift.

It is a drama that will be played out centuries later in the city of Cerr Cawnen. Among the many who take refuge in the lakeside citadel, nestled in a volcano's shadow, are a Westfolk band guided by the elven enchantress Dallandra and protected by Rhodry Maelwaedd and his fiery guardian dragon.

Meanwhile, from the north come the savage Horsekin slavers, ancient foe of the Westfolk, now bent on the domination of Cerr Cawnen. They are awaited by the sorceress Raena, their self-sworn high priestess and the votary of an evil goddess. Now, as Rhodry and Raena renew their timeless enmity, the fate of the city and every soul within it hangs in the balance -- and on an act of self-sacrifice dangerous beyond imagining.

Bitterwood has spent the past twenty years hunting down dragons, one at a time. But he is getting old and the hate that he has carried in his heart since a group of dragon-soldiers killed his family is beginning to fade. When he kills the royal prince dragon, the king decides the only retribution is genocide of the human race. Bitterwood is forced to enter the Free City, the grand trap designed to eradicate mankind, with thousands of others. Can he lead from within, or can a select few dragons unite to stop the king's madness from becoming reality. Full of rich characters and drama, this is an amazingly astute vision of our own culture by way of a feudal kingdom where dragons rule, and humans are used as workers or pets.

After the death of King Albekizan, Shandrazel and his allies struggle to keep the kingdom intact as the radical human prophet, Ragnar gathers forces to launch a full scale rebellion against the dragons. When all out war erupts, legendary dragon hunter, Bitterwood, must face his own personal daemons and choose where his loyalty really lies.

The dragon kingdom continues to slide into anarchy following the death of Albekizan and the capture of Dragon Forge by human rebels. But a cunning sky-dragon slavecatcher named Vulpine has organized a blockade to break the rebellion, assisted by the brutish earth-dragon war-boss Sawface. Inside the town, tensions rise between the fanatical prophet Ragnar, leader of the rebels, and his uneasy ally Burke the Machinist. Meanwhile, Jandra sets out on a desperate quest to reclaim her lost magic, joining forces once more with legendary dragon-slayer Bant Bitterwood as they hunt for Hex, the sun-dragon who stole her powers. Yet the plans of both dragons and men are about to be upended as a new power rises in the land, a mysterious healer who attracts both men and dragons to the Free City with a message of peace that may conceal more sinister motives. The Bitterwood Trilogy reaches to its climax as former friends face off as enemies to determine the future of mankind and the secret of Atlantis is finally revealed.