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Cerilla, the sheltered, castle-bound protagonist of this inventive and moving fantasy novel, is determined to escape her bloody fate: marriage to a king who is to be sacrificed after she bears his child. But Cerilla makes the monumental mistake of falling in love with her god-like husband to be—Arlen of the Sacred Isle—and he with her. Arlen’s devoted comrade Lonn takes Arlen’s place so the lovers can flee. But their escape is just the beginning of an odyssey marked by struggle and hardship as they cope with hyperboreal storms, near starvation, and attack by a band of armed horsemen. As they journey across harsh and fantastic lands, finally making a home beyond the Mountains of the Mysteries, Cerilla discovers how much she is willing to give up in the name of love.
Featuring a mythical world where horses gallop across water and serpents live beneath the earth, Chains of Gold is about finding your path in life, staying true to who you are, and the ultimate meaning of sacrifice. From a winner of the Tiptree Award and other honors, an author who “writes like a dream,” it’s an unforgettable reading experience (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 19, 2015 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781453293546
- File size: 527 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781453293546
- File size: 2229 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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August 5, 1986
The young virgin Cerilla has been brought to the Sacred Isle as consortfor one hourof the Summer King Arlen before he is to be gruesomely sacrificed in the Winter-King ritual. Trying to escape, Cerilla meets Arlen and they fall in love. Arlen's companion Lonn offers to trick the priestesses and take Arlen's place, allowing the lovers to flee. Lonn's gift has its price, however, as his spirit follows the runaways through harsh and fantastic lands to the home they establish beyond the Mountains of Mystery. When Lonn, in the shape of Cerilla's new baby, announces he will claim her as his own bride, Cerilla consults the Oracle and abandons the babe. Later, she risks Arlen's love and tracks the baby to the Afterworld, braving the Goddess's wrath but eventually earning her protection. Springer, author of Wings of Flame and other fantasies, writes with depth and subtlety; her characters have failings as well as strengths, and the topography is as vivid as are lands of dreams and nightmares. Cerilla is a worthy heroine, her story richly mythic.
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