English language
Published March 26, 2003 by Orb.
This is the story of how God taught an unambitious man to seek a throne.
JUSTICE IS CRUEL But tender mercy is the cruelest of all. It was for mercy's sake that Palicroval the Fair left you to live after the desecration of your honor ... to live and become great Queen Beauty, whose power makes the very gods tremble and whose mercy is that of the grave. You would lay the world to ruin for your soul's ease, and see the corruption of the heavens for your pain.
But beware Beauty-for though your power is mighty, there is still magic in the Land, and the Hart has bred a son... and the ones who have suffered your vengeance for so long may exact a payment that could split the world asunder.
God I love this book. I've listened to it several times as an audiobook (which is fantastic by the way), and the world of gods and rituals and magic and rules in these pages is unforgettable. It's not an easy read and isn't a happy book, but it's beautiful and hard and cruel and there's nothing quite like it. Unlike any fantasy (or anything else) I've ever read.
