Daughter of Aithne

by Karin Rita Gastreich

Overview

Betrayed by her own prodigy, Eolyn stands accused of treason. As power-hungry nobles dismantle her life's work and honor, the desperate queen forges a risky alliance with the ruthless and cunning Mage Corey. Determined to defend her son's claim to the throne of the Mage King, Eolyn prepares for her last and greatest battle, this time against her own sisters in magic.

Across the Furma River, Taesara of Roenfyn is drawn out of seclusion and into an ever-more vicious game of intrigue and war. Subject to the schemes of a shrewd uncle and the mysterious ambitions of the wizards of Galia, Taesara struggles to assert her own destiny, even as she takes up arms to defend her daughter's inheritance.

In the climactic finale to The Silver Web trilogy, threads of love, honor, betrayal, and vengeance culminate in a violent conflict between powerful women, opposed to each other yet destined to shatter a thousand-year cycle of war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780997232028
Publisher:	Karin R Gastreich
Publication date:	05/01/2017
Series:	Silver Web , #3
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.85(d)

Editorial Reviews

12/11/2017
The first two books of Gastreich’s Silver Web fantasy trilogy followed the magic-wielding Eolyn from a childhood with the old witch Ghemena to her adult life as the leader of the magas (female mages) and the queen of Moisehén. She’s married to her long-time love, King Akmael, and together they raise their children. When the trusted Ghemena inexplicably kidnaps Eolyn’s stepdaughter, Princess Eliasara, dark forces conspiring to destroy Eolyn, Akmael, and the magas seize the opportunity to strike with chaos and death. As the situation grows more dire, Gastreich raises the stakes by restricting Eolyn’s magic and keeping most of her allies all but powerless. Eolyn is a standout character, and her desperate and cunning attempts to save her kingdom and family enhance both her development and the prose. Gastreich retains the best elements of love, war, and plotting from her previous books while deepening Eolyn with grief and war-weariness that add to her determination to make peace. Fans of the trilogy won’t want to miss this hard-hitting finish. (BookLife)

Publishers Weekly

2017-05-19
In this conclusion of a fantasy trilogy, treachery and thoughts of retribution may spawn a devastating war between kingdoms. Eolyn, high maga and queen of Moisehén, is content in Moehn with her princess daughter, Briana, and maga (female) students. But the king's mages, at the order of Eolyn's husband, Akmael the mage king, demand all magas return to the City, their arms taken and their magic bound. Eolyn retains her own magic, but she, along with every maga, is held prisoner in the City. This is the king's response to Eolyn's student Maga Ghemena and two other maga warriors committing treason by freeing captive (and princess) Eliasara. Eliasara's the daughter of Akmael and his previous wife/queen, Taesara, a princess of Roenfyn who's been in a decadelong exile. Once mother and daughter are reunited, Ghemena promises a chance at vengeance against Akmael—aligning with other kingdoms and placing Eliasara rightfully on Moisehén's throne. With the king distrustful of magas and her student's reputed betrayal, Eolyn, relegated to the East Tower, searches for allies or perhaps just a friend (for example, Mage Corey of East Selen). War, meanwhile, is imminent, and a wizard's curse incites chaos within Moisehén. Gastreich (Sword of Shadows, 2016, etc.) thankfully ends her series with the strongest entry. Characters, for one, are superbly fleshed out; there's sympathy on both sides, as even Taesara, a wronged woman whose thirst for revenge is understandable, contemplates opting for peace in lieu of a confrontation. Nearly the entire plot is a tense buildup to an inevitable battle, but along the way are turncoats, surprising deaths, and a few bloody fights (at their best when Eolyn wields her sword, Kel'Barú). And as in the preceding books, the author writes in a refined, assertive style: "The silver-white blade flashed like lightning against a starless night, painting ribbons of black over jade-colored flesh, eliciting howls of rage and pain." The climax may not be what some readers anticipate, but it's impactful and wholly satisfactory. An enticing and elegant series finale filled with magic and turmoil.

Kirkus Reviews