The Skull of the World
core novel 2001 The Witches of Eileanan
Record
| First published | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.30 (3,269 ratings, collected 2026-10-11) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780451458698 |
| Internal chronology | 5 |
Synopsis
In the land of Eileanan the Pact of Peace has not meant the end of unrest. The young Rìgh and Banrìgh, Lachlan and Iseult, paid a high price for victory: Lachlan's forces are depleted by the war, and pirates still raid ships and coastal towns. Isabeau, in self-imposed exile among the Khan'cohbans of the mountains, longs to rejoin her twin sister and her home in these uncertain times, but first she must complete one last task for her teachers, a journey of initiation to the Skull of the World, where the cruel and enigmatic White Gods will reveal her true name, her talents as a witch and her purpose in life. When she does return, she brings an extraordinary gift; and when Margrit of Arran takes advantage of Lachlan's absence to kidnap his son and heir, Isabeau must learn to use it against her enemy once and for all.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Witches of Eileanan
- Series: The Witches of Eileanan core; position 5 of 6 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Kate Forsyth
Notes
- From the series record (The Witches of Eileanan): Kate Forsyth's six-book Celtic epic fantasy (Pan Macmillan Australia, 1997-2002; Roc in the United States, where the first volume is titled The Witches of Eileanan): a land where witchcraft has been outlawed since the Day of Reckoning, the apprentice witch Isabeau and her ancient mentor Meghan of the Beasts, and the struggle to restore the Coven and the lost Lodestar.
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 The Witches of Eileanan: position 5 of 6: previous The Forbidden Land (2000) · next The Fathomless Caves (2002)
- Internal chronology, within The Witches of Eileanan: position 8 of 9: previous The Forbidden Land (2000) · next The Fathomless Caves (2002)
Sources
- FantasticFiction
- Publisher description (Roc)
- BookScouter (edition record)
- Google Books (Penguin/Roc publisher description)
- Random House Australia (publisher description)
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