Bøger af Tony Shillitoe

Fifteen is a challenging age for a boy, and Joshua is coming to terms with his identity, his friendships, his sexuality and his faith, while he also deals with his parents' separation and his father's illness.A chance encounter on his uncle's farm with a stranger his own age starts Josh on a journey to unravel a dark family secret, a journey that opens the complex and sometimes tragic adult world into which he is growing.

Andra returns to the capital bearing Abreotan's fabled weapon, hailed as the one prophesied to defeat the Dragonlord, and the Kingdom's hopes for defeating Mareg the Dragonlord are high. But A Ahmud Ki has darker designs for the new king. He enthrals Andra and uses him as a tool to increase his personal power, while he transforms into a new variant of the Dragonlords and takes revenge on the Aelendyell who he has despised for years. Caught in the epic struggle between the old Dragonlord and the new one, Andra's friends search for a way to free him from A Ahmud Ki's grip, willing to sacrifice themselves to ensure the ancient prophecy foretelling the Dragonlords' fates is fulfilled.

A Ahmud Ki, hiding his bitter past as Terin the half-Aelendyell, pursues greater power and access to all five Kis of magic while he assumes the roles of Advisor and Chancellor in King Thana's court. With Dragonlord Mareg Dru'artha Sutnavanistra preparing to conquer the world, A Ahmud Ki faces the challenge of unravelling an ancient prophecy concerning the sword of Aian Abreotan, the hero who brought down the Dragonlords of old - or can he manufacture an incarnation of the prophecy to suit his own aspirations. Abandoned for dead, after the crushing defeat of the Kingdom armies on The Rim Shield, Andra learns the world is more mysterious than he imagined as he returns to health among the Aelendyell. Resolved to return to his home in The Vale, he makes his way to the capital, but the intervention of a young girl, his friends and a prophecy conspire to change his fate.

Possession of the Five Ki of magic is Terin's obsession, his key to acceptance and honour among the Aelendyell, and he will do anything to obtain them - steal and kill, if necessary. His determination and desperation, even when sent into exile, leads him to the arcane prison of an ancient Dragonlord, where he can't help but tamper with the magical locks... In The Vale, far from the kingdom's world of politics and trade and war, Andra is intent on learning the lore of The Way from the Guardian Master so he can take his place among the Guardians of The Vale to protect his village, but when the King's elite Haardrishii warriors come to take young men to the capital, to serve in the army in a war against the invading Haagii from the north, Andra has no choice but to go along. The people of Thana, though, have no understanding of the potency of the enemy preparing to sweep down upon them from Uz Erhaag... Circling behind the fates of Terin and Andra is an ancient prophecy concerning the second coming of the dragonlords and the one destined to face and defeat them.

Set in realms of fantasy and myth, the original stories compiled in this collection reflect a range of perspectives on age-old themes. From the mother determined to protect her brood, the cynical mercenary who warns young men not to follow in his footsteps, professionals going about their business, individuals trusting in false hope and love, apprentices hoping to learn from the masters, to the young trying to atone for their mistakes, the stories explore the human, and not-so-human, spirit when it is faced with adversity and promise.

In the spirit of The Catcher in the Rye, set in Adelaide in the 1990s, this is sixteen year old Scott's story of the year when the adult world around him imploded and left him with nothing but confusion and anger - and a new friend who utterly changed his life.