Shadowplay

Darkness has fallen on the lands of the sun as an army of misshapen fey spill out from beyond the Shadowline. At their head is Yasammez, dark creature of nightmare. A furtive bargain was struck at the gates of Southmarch and the castle was spared, but centuries of enmity will not be so easily appeased. Meanwhile Barrick, heir to Southmarch and cursed with madness, has crossed the Shadowline into the realm of his people's ancient enemy. There are stranger things than death here - stranger and older.

Much further south, shadow is also falling over the reign of the Autarch, god-king and supreme ruler. Quinnitan, junior wife, must flee the royal household or die, her greatest secret as yet hidden even from herself. Ancient blood flows through her veins and she will become a unique weapon in the fight against her greatest terror.

And beyond the ken of all but a chosen few, the gods are awakening and the world is changing ...

A tale of ambitious scope and it's achieved in style ( SFX )

Praise for the Shadowmarch series (-)

His books are immersive, drawing the reader into his work, seducing them to not notice the time flying past them as they delve further into Williams' imagination ( Sacramento Book Review )

Anyone who likes their fantasy 'Tolkienesque' will be hard-pressed to find any author writing today better than Tad Williams. ( SFSite )

All four volumes of Shadowmarch are must reads for any fan of high fantasy. ( BookLoons )

The second volume of master storyteller Tad Williams' must-read Shadowmarch series.