The Misted Cliffs

July 15, 2005
When Cobalt the Dark frees his imprisoned father, the deposed king of Harsdown, he ensures that war will once again shatter the peace of the three countries of Harsdown, Aronsdale, and Misted Cliffs. To prevent such a disaster, Princess Melody Dawnfield, daughter of the current king of Harsdown, agrees to marry the brooding, cruel Cobalt. Trained as a mage and a swordswoman, "Mel" is not what her new husband expects, and his feelings may become his downfall. The author of the multivolume "Skolian Empire" series returns to Aronsdale, where magic progresses by colors and shapes and where two young people hold the fate of three kingdoms in their hands. An appealing combination of fantasy and romance, this title belongs in most collections.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2005
Award-winning Asaro revisits the world depicted in " The Charmed Sphere" (2004) in an epic fantasy featuring Mel, heir to the Jaguar throne of Harsdown. Cobalt the Dark, a giant of a man with an evil reputation, frees his long-imprisoned father, the deposed king of Harsdown. After taking him to the king of the Misted Cliffs, both kings start devising strategies to regain Harsdown, but Cobalt, who secretly prefers not to wreak death and destruction, suggests that he wed Mel to avoid a devastating war. He is astounded to find that she is attractive and that she concedes to marry him, even if it's only because she wants to save her people. Unfortunately, the marriage truce doesn't involve neighboring kingdoms. Amid the ensuing turmoil, Mel's magical powers allow her to see that there is far more to Cobalt than meets the eye. Asaro, a physicist, has written a convincing tale of geometry-based magic and romance between two flawed but heroic people.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)