AustLit

'Imagine if your darkest dreams had the power to kill . . . First came the flies and bees. Then the wild dog attacks in the Blue Mountains and sightings by locals of terrifying beings. The wail of the Banshee is heard. Erinyes, Pan and the Wild Hunt are on the move. The old ones demand blood ... the killings begin. In Circle of Nine a coven of witches unleashed chaos by opening a portal to Eronth, a parallel world where magic, prophecy and ancient myths are real. Now the coven return to close the portal. But dark forces are working against them. Is one of their own betraying them?

'Eronth is on the edge of ruin. Its cunning folk have been decimated by witchhunts and are beset by invaders. Behind all this chaos lies the Eom crystal, ever growing in power and now with an offspring of equal evil.

'The faith and strength of Khartyn, Gwyndion, Maya and others are pushed to the limit as they face the horrific culmination of deadly energies. Not all of them will prove equal to the challenge. Heroes will fall by the wayside. One of them will perform the ultimate sacrifice. The final unexpected twist will make you gasp!'

[Source: Momentum Books website]

Glimmer's mother Khatrene and her Guardian lover Talis struggle under the rule of Khatrene's White Twin brother King Mihale who has been compassionless and perverse since his revival from death on the Airworld of Atheyre. The only other remaining Guardian, Pagan, hopes to rekindle his betrothal to Lae, their new religious leader, but her grief at the loss of her son and her husband seems too great a barrier to cross.

On the Waterworld of Magoria (our earth) Vandal, the son Pagan left behind when duty called him back to Ennae, has turned into a young man, bitter at his father for abandoning him. When tragedy steals Vandal's future, his bitterness becomes deadly as he uses his own Guardian power to follow his father into Ennae to exact revenge, intent on destroying the one thing his father loves most.

Overshadowing all is the Maelstrom, inexorable, relentless, pouring elements from one world into another, causing destruction and death on an unprecedented scale. The cetaceans of Magoria and Cliffdwellers of Ennae have ascended to the Airworld of Atheyre, but those races who remain are in the deepest peril.

In the end, Glimmer must overcome her own selfish desires to follow her destiny, giving up everything she holds dear to fight the Serpent of Death and steal a future for the remnants of mankind'.

Source: author's website (www.louisecusack.com).

'Caught up a battle between Security and a cabal of rebels, Irith has no choice but to help the rebels' assault on a secret data centre deep below London. They steal files containing the code for a deadly terminator virus, but no one can decipher it.

Despite Emma's best efforts, the sacred Eom crystal is beginning to recharge, throwing the magical Goddess-worshipping world of Eronth into deadly turmoil. Bride of The Stone tells the story of Maya, daughter of Emma and the mysterious Stag Man, who was stolen by an Eronth faery tribe as an infant and raised to womanhood oblivious to both her identity and destiny in the great struggle to come.

Maya finds herself in a world threatened with destruction. The sinister Lightcaster feeds off the Eom's dark energy to orchestrate bloody witch-hunts, and the Sea Hags fulfill ancient prophecies by invading the land. The Azephim dark angels scheme to harness the Eom's power and Maya's future to realise their dreams of power.

Amidst this chaos Maya begins a long road to self-discovery, helped by the Wizards of the Circle of Nine, freed from millennia trapped in stone.

Meanwhile on Earth, Emma's house is occupied by a new age cult whose leader's esoteric powers are frighteningly real. But he knows little about his own angelic lineage. He knows even less about the Azephim and other dangerous entities drawn to the house's dormant portal between the worlds.

Maya's destiny unfolds as she falls in love with Bwani, leader of the Circle of Nine. But are their combined powers enough stop the dark forces destroying not only Eronth, but Earth as well?

[Source: Momentum Books website]

'Only seventeen and barely able to control his Guardian powers, Pagan has been given the task of championing the most consequential child ever born, the newborn child of The Light - Glimmer, who will grow to become the Catalyst. Pagan is injured as they flee their brown homeworld of Ennae, arriving into the strange rainbow hued world of Magoria (Earth) helpless and friendless. Small town funeral director, Sarah McGuire finds them and her home becomes their sanctuary, however Sarah's forthright manner takes some getting used to.

Pagan struggles to adapt, for he has little choice. He knows nothing of caring for a babe and already shoulders the burden of not only hiding his own healing powers in a world that is as confusing as it is contradictory, but as Glimmer grows he must also hide the frightening intelligence locked inside her child's body. On Ennae, the world they have fled, Kraal, the fearful Firegod of Haddash who can transform himself into any terrifying shape has made a pact with The Dark. In return for a magical talisman now held by the Plainsmen, Kraal will give The Dark sovereignty over Ennae, yet little does he know that The Dark's ambitions now lean towards power over all four worlds.

There is no place in either of their plans for Glimmer to live. On the Airworld of Atheyre, The Light and her lover Talis watch on helplessly, unable to protect Pagan and Glimmer from the evil that conspires against them. And behind all is the inexorable Maelstrom, growing in strength and momentum. Before it destroys the four elemental worlds Glimmer must return to Ennae and face those who would have her dead. Only one thing can distract her from fulfilling her destiny, yet that one thing is exactly what she needs to bring peace to the four worlds.' - author's website (sighted 25/01/2010)

'Two kings and two peoples once lived on the island of Innisfail, in harmony with the land and the earth—though not so peaceably with one another. The arrival of the Gaedhals, from the land of Iber across the sea, shifted this balance and threw the Fir-Bolg and the Tuatha De Danaan into confusion and disarray.

'In the face of seemingly unstoppable invasion—and in the aftermath of a great and dangerous gift—the ultimate fate of their two peoples still remains to be decided. The Druid Sorcha, with the newly appointed queen of the Ravens, must work against those who disrespect and defile their holy land.

'But Saran, younger son of Brocan, King of the Fir-Bolg, has a quest of his own. He has seen his father's forces struggle and fail, and his brother's birthright diminish as the Gaedhals increase. Saran will do whatever is necessary to see his brother Lom declared king of their people—no matter what, or who, remains for Lom to inherit'.

Source: back cover.

'Ennae is a parallel world joined to our own world by the Sacred Pool, a portal that can only be opened by one with the Guardian blood running through their veins. It is through this watery gateway that Khatrene leaves her modern-day life behind forever, drawn into a quest that will take her into the depths of the unknown. Khatrene must fulfil her destiny as The Light, the woman whose child will unite the four elemental worlds. At each turn are real and imagined enemies who will do everything in their power to prevent her from fulfilling the prophecy, including the ethereal and erotic shadow woman, the enigmatic tattooed man, even her beloved brother Mihale. Talkis, her appointed Guardian, must help her through the dangerous terrain of Ennae, sacrificing everything to ensure her safety in a land where magic prevails and nothing is as it seems'.

Source: Bookwormers website (www.bookwormers.co.nz). Source: 7/2/11.

'Imagine that you sit warming yourself by a fire in a tiny settlement lying deep in snow. Sweet peat smoke scents the chill breeze and an old song-maker raises a keening cry for summers's long absence. Here amongst folk who call themselves the Feni was a young lad born and there passed his first years on Earth. Raised as the son of a blacksmith, Mawn, this very lad, knows little of the world outside his sleepy village. But Eirinn, his island home is in turmoil. Black-robed monks have made their way across the tempestuous sea from Rome and have set the people at war with one another. The Elf-High King and his Druid Council know they cannot survive the furious might of the Roman Empire, so they must find other ways to save their ancient magical traditions from the evils that threaten to engulf them. For this great task the Council has named a young boy who amongst the Feni was born and there passed his first years on Earth.'

Source: Fantastic Fiction website www.fantasticfiction.co.uk (Sighted 21/4/10)