During the walk from campus to the hotel, Paul and Matt notice something is trailing them, which causes Matt to briefly leave so he can deal with the problem. Upon gaining the hotel room, Paul forces Loren to reveal his true identity by demanding to know what had followed them. After overcoming their initial disbelief, the five agree to return the following evening to accompany their visitors back to Fionavar.
Unfortunately the trip doesn't quite go as planned, as Dave gets separated from the rest in transit and nobody knows where he landed. To make matters worse, although Brennin is indeed celebrating the king's fiftieth anniversary, it is a country on the verge of collapse. Drought-stricken since the beginning of its growing season, it faces the very real danger of famine in the near future if rain is not forthcoming soon.
Than there are the internal conflicts of the court: the eldest son to the king is in exile for a mysterious reason, and is never to be named, the chancellor appears to be making a power grab, the mages are in conflict with the priestesses of the Goddess over some long ago transgression, and the king is verging on dotage.
All of this is just prelude for the mysteries and disasters in store. Each of the five has a destiny to fulfill in Fionavar, and for none of them will the path to fulfillment be easy. Each will have to walk the lonely path of self-discovery on a parallel course with the war that develops between the forces of good and evil in Fionavar.
Over a thousand years ago the peoples of Fionavar, human, dwarf, and the lios alfar (beings similar to elves but not quite the same) had banded together to defeat the God Rakoth Maugrim. He was imprisoned under a mountain and chained hand and foot. Each people and country took into their possession a ward stone that would change colour if he so much as attempted to break free, thus guaranteeing his imprisonment.
Naturally his escape coincides with our friend's visit. Book one, The Summer Tree, ends with the five being whisked back to Toronto, including Jennifer who was captured and imprisoned by Rakoth, at the moment all hell breaks loose.
Article comments
1 - johnboy
Interesting you didn't draw similarities with the Silmarillion.
I read the books thinking all the way how stylistically similar I thought they were.
Only when I got to the end did I notice Kay's involvement.
OK so I prefer to know the work before i check out the author.