Daughter of the Otherworld

Lawless (the Gaul Song Trilogy) returns to historical Ireland in this engrossing series-launching epic fantasy, exploring through myth and legend the tumultuous, war-torn years of the late 1100s. Two magical immortal races battle for control of the High Kingship. The malevolent Fomorians, led by Donnchad, a wielder of fire magic, are opposed by the Descendants of the Tuatha Dé Danann, led by formidable warrior Broccan. Broccan and the Descendants have a secret weapon: Broccan's cousin, Isolde, who was born 150 years ago apparently without magical powers and foretold to save Ireland. Isolde vanished in her youth but has recently reappeared. Can she turn the tide in the war? Told through the sensitively rendered narrative voices of Donnchad, his sorceress mother, Broccan, and late-adolescent Isolde, this clash of supernatural sects parallels Isolde's painful and loss-filled coming-of-age. Lawless intercuts the Fomorians' murderous pursuit of Isolde with entrancing retellings of Irish legends, twining them into a rich literary tapestry. Historical fantasy fans will find this world both heartbreakingly realistic and irresistibly magical. (Nov.)