World of Change Series

Over the centuries since its founding, the landlocked and iron-poor realm of Galesa has developed a social and religious horror of mechanical devices. But the modern world is creeping through the mountain passes. Farm machinery and the printing press have already arrived; steam engines and repeating rifles are on the way. How will these backward people cope? And in this realm, so removed from the rest of its world, we find Aleria, equally out of touch with her society. Born into a Ranked family, she has no interest in the mannerly social world of her classmates. All their activities seem flat, pale and useless, and she constantly schemes to spice up her life. Her loving parents despair for her future, in fear that her next prank will prove harmful to herself or someone else. Only a few close friends support her. And then one of her stunts goes wrong, and throws her into an ordeal that destroys her confidence and cripples her emotions. Seeking a solution, Aleria starts down an unusual path for one of her station. Her Battle Arts Master warns her, "Use violence to solve a problem and you become a different person. Violence will be one of your options for the rest of your life. There is no going back." That suits Aleria. For her, there has always been only one direction: forward.

Just as Mito seems to be solving her problems, Aleria’s hopes for a solution to her own difficulties fade as the dreams increase and her dissatisfaction with her life deepens. A mission to obtain information leads her to a more subtle danger; is Lord Fauvé a clever rebel, or is he a very tempting solution to her search for a place in life? But again the world she has been so sheltered from reaches out and slaps her in the face. Suffused with rage at her ultimate degredation, Aleria goes about taking her revenge with methodical skill. Returning home, she discovers that she is even farther from the old traditional life she had always avioded. She still feels the same, but the attitudes of everyone else towards her have changed. No one knows quite how to treat her. And when social conventions threaten her friendship with Mito, Aleria decides it’s time to straighten out the whole lot of them.

Nobody messes with a Dalmyn wagon train. That is the credo of Dalmyn Cartage, and their drivers and guards are up to the task of keeping it that way. Until Aleria anDalmyn goes out on her first assignment as wagonmaster and runs into a simmering quarrel involving an ancient boundary dispute and forbidden Mechanical weapons. And a Ghost Beast from an ancient tale, which Aleria would prefer not to believe in until the mutilated bodies persuade her otherwise. Trapped in the suffocating depths of a crumbling mountain fortress by an ambitious and relentless foe, Aleria struggles to survive as her small party gets whittled down and her confidence in her ability to do her duty fades. Even the sturdy presence of her guard Captain, Erlon, with his hand-and-a-half sword, and the handsome but diffident Kolwyn anLlannon, inheritor of the lore of the Old Ones, can protect her party if she makes the wrong move. And then there are the two unknown horsemen dogging her footsteps. Do they have contact with a traitor in her own camp? Who can she trust? And where in her crowded life is there a time and a place for the love she craves? Heralded by advance readers as the best book in the series, this novel steps up the action without losing the fine characterization and quirky humour of the earlier books.

This is an Advance Review Copy, so formatting and cover are not finalized. Last year was easy. Nobody expected Jameta to be brave enough, strong enough or smart enough to be of any use. It was so much fun to prove them all wrong. Of course, she was scared to death half the time, but she succeeded. But now they all know what she can do. Now she is at the head of the party, and everyone is looking to her for leadership. But she has a plan. Good leaders find others to do all the important things that have to be done, and create a competent group around them who co-operate to succeed. And it seems to be working. Her party of Galesians sweeps through Domaland society, impressing everyone. Medlilli, Speaker for the Dry Land people, seems to be getting her message across. But when things start to go wrong, the solution always seems to be for Jameta to take on more duties than she knows how to handle. Sooner or later, she knows it’s all going to blow up in her face. That’s if the boiler of her paddle steamer doesn’t explode first.

Jameta anDennal is a quandary to all who know her. How can someone who is so pleasant and polite get away with doing the things she does? Jameta isn’t sure herself. One thing she does know; everyone is always trying to figure her out. Which puzzles her, because all of them are so easy to decipher. In fact, she has to be careful, because people get very upset when she knows things about them that she really shouldn’t. But reading people isn’t much use if you can’t get them to do what you want. Especially Erlon, the handsome guard Captain. He acts like he loves her, but he just won’t do anything about it. And now they are going off on a caravan journey to the deserts of the East, with many issues unsolved, the first one being her edgy relationship with Aleria, the Caravan Master. And there’s something about her family’s Eastern heritage that no one will tell her. No matter what happens on this trip, Jameta is going to learn a lot: hopefully enough to keep her alive.