A book of old, wild magic—nothing is what it seems.” —Seth Dickinson, author of The Monster Baru Cormorant
“A fitting end to a gorgeous experiment in art, worldbuilding, and character, growing in strength from book to book.” —Kirkus, starred review
“Opulent, ambitious fantasy....Readers will be blown away by the lush, lyrical prose and epic scale of this novel.” —Publishers Weekly
“Myer's lush prose and imagery amplifies a layered plot filled with magic, prophecy, and power.” —Library Journal
“This riveting series conclusion is hard to set down and will leave readers hoping that Myer returns to this fantastic fantasy setting someday.” —Booklist
For Ilana C. Myer
“Gorgeous. Fans of fantasy intrigue will like this one.” —The Washington Post
“Intricate, enthralling, and devastating.” —Yoon Ha Lee, author of Ninefox Gambit
“A wondrous world matched in beauty only by the prose in which it is sung. Ilana Myer is incredible.” —Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings
“A brilliantly imagined page-turner...uses lush, lyrical prose to propel the reader through the machinations of a wildly original fantasy world. Highly recommended.” —Scott Hawkins, author of The Library at Mount Char
“With its lush bouquet of elegance, intrigue, and passion, Fire Dance is Myer at her most intoxicating.” —Mishell Baker, author of Borderline
“[Myer's] world opens like a flower, revealing fresh landscapes both beautiful and dreadful...Worth waiting for.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“With detailed worldbuilding and vivid characters...this lush and luminous story combines exquisite splendor and fathomless cruelty as it champions the power of art and the resilience of the human spirit.” —RT Book Reviews
“Court intrigue and shadowy power spread through a richly described world, with strong characters and intricate prose to construct this absorbing plot…Myer’s sequel to Last Song Before Night is as powerful as its predecessor.” —Library Journal
“Forbidden enchantments and hidden machinations fill this well-plotted dark fantasy.” —Publishers Weekly
“Beautiful imagery abounds.... Full of lyrical, thoughtful writing packed with so much resonant emotion that it begs to be experienced.” —Tor.com
“A triumph. A masterwork of character and prose that wind through your soul like the final trembling notes of a song.” —Pages Below The Vaulted Sky
★ 2020-01-13
The common thread of Myer's previous two books—don't bargain with dangerous extradimensional magical beings—expresses itself in new and surprising ways in this conclusion to a trilogy melding music, enchantment, and dark ambition.
Having employed such bargains to take over the Poets' Academy and foment civil war in the distant land of Kahishi (Fire Dance, 2017, etc.), Archmaster Elissan Diar now uses his power to take the throne of Eivar. But his magics have opened a portal for the White Queen, an icy, bloody being who has her own ideas about what Diar is entitled to. Peace and stability in both Kahishi and Eivar depend on former Court Poet Lin Amaristoth; Syme Oleir, a young man possessed and driven insane by an Ifreet; and two previously ignored and despised Academy students: Julien Imara, a shy young woman unexpectedly gifted with prophetic magic, and Dorn Arrin, whose unwilling part in a sacrificial ritual could mean his doom. And somewhere in the mix there is Etherell Lyr, a beautiful man of uncertain loyalties and Dorn's decidedly unrequited love, whose tortured past as a sexual abuse victim has left him mercurial, vengeful, and sociopathic. These fully drawn characters negotiate complicated choices in a world that intriguingly intermingles Middle Eastern and Celtic folklore as well as a fantasy equivalent of the Jewish Diaspora. Myer delicately threads a steady path through a complex, ever shifting plot while maintaining a consistent throughline of theme that condemns the heedless and selfish choices of the powerful and pointedly underscores the folly of ignoring the quiet, seemingly insignificant people whose unexplored depths and considerable strengths might be poised to strike against those very same people at the top.
A fitting end to a gorgeous experiment in art, worldbuilding, and character, growing in strength from book to book.
