NIGHTWALKER
The Warlocks of Talverdin, book one
Orca, 2007. Cover art by Yvan Meunier.
I felt as though my skin were on fire.
I knew I must plunge my hand into the bowl of white flames. I must, to prove to them that I was human. I took another step, and one more, but the very air burned. I could not breathe. I could not see. I could not feel the floor under my feet. Everything had become a hot roaring whiteness. Far, far away, I could hear Master Arvol shouting, “Behold! The Nightwalker cannot even approach the flame!”
Maurey has always been persecuted for the colour of his skin and eyes. He has never known more about his parents than that his mother died the day he was born. When the king's chancellor discovers that Maurey possesses a ring belonging to the missing queen and another that may be the key to finding the hidden kingdom of the inhuman warlocks of Talverdin, he is imprisoned, revealed as a Nightwalker, and sentenced to execution in philosopher's fire. Rescued by a young baroness with her own reasons for fearing the chancellor, Maurey sets out on a dangerous journey to the land of his father's people. If he and Annot are to survive and prevent the destruction of the last refuge of the Nightwalkers, Maurey will have to call on human and inhuman skills he never knew he possessed, and win the trust of both sides of his family.
• Winner of the 2008 Ann Connor Brimer Award
• Selected by VOYA for their annual list of the Year's Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, April 2007
• Ontario Library Association Best Bets Top Ten list 2007
• Shortlisted for the 2008/09 Snow Willow Awards
Reviews
"Filled with pathos, humor and plenty of action, this should satisfy most YA fantasy readers...Sure to bring requests for the next in the series." ~ KLIATT, July 2007
"All I can say is WOW! I've read a fair amount of fantasy/paranormal books, and this is one of the best I've come across. Amazingly well-developed and imagined, both character and story-wise, intelligent, and witty." ~ Teens Read Too March 2007
"...a fast-paced adventure story...the main characters are multi-dimensional...should appeal to readers of either gender. Highly recommended." ~ CM Magazine