In the Ruins
core novel 2005 Crown of Stars
Record
| First published | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.88 (3,023 ratings, collected 2026-08-26) |
| Page count | 606 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780756414269 |
| Internal chronology | 6 |
Synopsis
With the magical barriers that once held the exiled Ashioi at bay beginning to fail, King Henry's realm faces disintegration from both earthly invaders and supernatural upheaval as Eika warriors press their assault and internal court politics further weaken his already strained authority. Liath, whose formidable and still only partly understood magical power played a role in unleashing the current crisis, must work to master abilities she has only begun to grasp, while her husband Sanglant, Henry's heir, struggles to hold together a fracturing kingdom in the chaos that follows. Meanwhile the manipulative cleric Hugh of Austra continues maneuvering events to his own advantage, including moving against Liath and Sanglant's young daughter Blessing, even as the mysterious Alain's uncertain destiny continues to shadow the unfolding disaster from the margins of the story.
Where it sits
- Universe: Crown of Stars
- Series: Crown of Stars core; position 6 of 7 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Kate Elliott
Notes
- From the series record (Crown of Stars): A seven-volume secondary-world epic drawing on early medieval European history and astronomy/astrology, following a large ensemble cast across a single continuous conflict.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Crown of Stars: position 6 of 7: previous The Gathering Storm (2003) · next Crown of Stars (2006)
Sources
← Crown of Stars dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.