Cover of The Walls of Air

The Walls of Air

core novel 1983 Darwath

Record

First published1983
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statuscore
Reader rating4.06 (3,438 ratings, collected 2026-09-14)
First-edition ISBN9780345296702
Internal chronology2

Synopsis

The Walls of Air continues the Darwath trilogy after refugees have gathered within the fortified Keep of Dare, sheltering from the Dark's relentless siege on the world outside. Overcrowding, scarce resources, and internal political tension threaten the Keep's fragile order even as the external threat presses at its walls. To find a lasting answer, the wizard Ingold sets out with Rudy Solis on a perilous journey to locate the long-hidden city of Quo, hoping to find the Archmage Lothiro and the combined power of Darwath's surviving wizards, who may hold the secret to the protective magic known as the Walls of Air. Meanwhile Gil Patterson remains behind at the Keep, taking on responsibility for managing the refugees and maintaining order under mounting strain, as the story alternates between the travelers' dangerous road and the growing crisis within the fortress itself.

Where it sits

  • Universe: Darwath
  • Series: Darwath core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
  • Author: Barbara Hambly

Notes

  • From the series record (Darwath): The original, complete, self-contained Darwath trilogy. Hambly later added 2 further novels (Icefalcon's Quest 1995, Mother of Winter 1996) plus several 2015-2018 novelettes set in the same world -- deliberately not researched or registered, out of scope for now.

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.

Sources

← Darwath dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.