Elfgift

A feud-riven Ancient Britain, and a life of rags, shacks, gruel, smoke, cold, killing and rape, set the scene for this tale of dynastic strife. A dying king bequeaths his crown to Elfgift, a bastard spawned from his coupling with an elven mother. The three athelings immediately initiate a treacherous and serpentine espionage, each against the other and all against Elfgift. When the Valkyrie-like Jarnesaxa comes to the aid of Elfgift, and the youngest of the athelings embarks on a vengeance-seeking trance journey into the ghost world, the forces of the supernatural enter the fray. This is a bleak, bloody and enthralling book in which harrowing violence and gloomy fatalism vie with glimpses of eerie beauty. Being a 'Point Fantasy' title, the indeterminate ending suggests that we'll be visiting the participants in this powerfully told tale again.