The Shining City
core novel 2005 The Witches of Eileanan
Record
| First published | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.04 (2,506 ratings, collected 2026-10-11) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780857988676 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
Rhiannon, the wild half-human girl who tamed a winged horse to escape the satyricorn tribe that raised her, has been persuaded by the handsome apprentice-witch Lewen to stay among humans and learn to use her strong magical talents, but before her training can begin she must answer for a past crime. Imprisoned in Sorrowgate Tower, she awaits trial for murder and treason while her winged mare Blackthorn flies forlornly over the Shining City, and by night she is haunted by the malevolent ghost of a dead queen hungry to live again. Lewen, back at the Tower of Two Moons, is drawn into the intrigues of the court and begins to cool toward her, and the princess Olwynne may have worked a spell to steal his heart, while Isabeau the Keybearer, busy with a royal wedding, fails to heed Rhiannon's tale of necromancy and ghosts until it is too late.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Witches of Eileanan
- Series: Rhiannon's Ride core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Kate Forsyth
Notes
- From the series record (Rhiannon's Ride): Kate Forsyth's return to Eileanan, some twenty-five years after The Witches of Eileanan: Rhiannon, a half-human satyricorn girl who escapes her herd on a winged horse, and the apprentice-witch Lewen, amid necromancy and court intrigue under the rule of Lachlan the Winged.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Rhiannon's Ride: position 2 of 3: previous The Tower of Ravens (2004) · next The Heart of Stars (2006)
- Internal chronology, within The Witches of Eileanan: position 4 of 9: previous The Pool of Two Moons (1998) · next The Cursed Towers (1999)
Sources
- Penguin Books Australia (publisher)
- FantasticFiction
- Penguin Random House (series page)
- Mildura bookshop (publisher description)
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