Book description
The fifth book in the Megan Lindholm (Robin Hobb) backlist.
Seattle: a place as magical as the Emerald City.
Subtle magic seeps through the cracks in the paving stones of the
sprawling metropolis. But only the inhabitants who possess special gifts
are open to the city's consciousness; finding portents in the graffiti,
reading messages in the rubbish or listening to warnings in the
skipping-rope chants of children.
Wizard is bound to Seattle and her magic. His gift is the Knowing - a
powerful enchantment allowing him to know the truth of things; to hear
the life-stories of ancient mummies locked behind glass cabinets, to
receive true fortunes from the carnival machines, to reveal to ordinary
people the answers to their troubles and to safeguard the city's equilibrium.
The magic has its price; Wizard must never have more than a dollar in
his pocket, must remain celibate, and he must feed and protect the pigeons.
But a threat to Seattle has begun to emerge in the portents. A
malevolent force born of Wizard's forgotten past has returned to prey
upon his power and taunt him with images of his obscure history; and he
is the only wizard in Seattle who can face the evil and save the city,
his friends and himself. Praise for Megan Lindholm:
'A bright new talent in the fantasy field'
Charles de Lint
'Lindholm has created a refreshingly different magic'
Locus
'Fascinating, absorbing and well written'
Fantasy Review Megan Lindholm was born in California in 1952 and
majored in Communications at Denver University, Colorado. A winner of
both the Hugo and Nebula Award, she wrote a number of successful fantasy
novels, including Cloven Hooves, The Windsinger trilogy and Wizard of
the Pigeons before taking the name, Robin Hobb. Assassin's Apprentice
was Robin Hobb's first novel, and was followed by the equally successful
Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest. She lives outside Seattle,
Washington.
