Wolf of Winter, The - Softcover

"From the panorama of history and legend, Paula Volsky weaves a spellbinding tale of magic, conspiracy, and desire in the frozen land of Rhazaulle, where the living and the dead live peacefully side by side...until now.

Of all the excesses indulged by the decadent Rhazaullean nobility, only one is forbidden--necromancy. It is to these black arts that Prince Varis is addicted, hoping to usurp the Wolf Throne. his greatest challenge comes in the person of his beautiful niece Shalindra, grown to womanhood in the shadow of exile and dedicated to brining her brother Cerrov--the rightful heir--to the throne. Seized and brought to her uncle's mountain stronghold, Shalindra is both repelled and fascinated by the mysterious Varis, master of the dead. As winter approaches, their encounter threatens to shape for both of them a destiny far different--and more dangerous--than either could have imagined.

"Thoughtful, distinctive, unconventional and shapely." --Kirkus Reviews

Intriguing other-world fantasy from the author of Illusion (1991), set in the subarctic Russian-flavored land of Rhazaulle. The Ulor (or ruler) of Rhazaulle has a learned and intelligent but sickly younger brother, Varis, who, tiring of being insulted or passed over in favor of lesser men at court, retires to the remote family castle, the Tollbooth. Here, by dint of great study and various stimulating drugs, Varis develops a mastery of necromancy, able to conjure forth and command the miserable ghosts that infest Rhazaulle. Becoming accustomed to wielding power, and as a side- effect of the drugs, Varis decides to become Ulor himself, and, using his forbidden arts, coerces ghosts into disposing of both his elder brothers and the current Ulor's children. Next in line are Varis's nephew, Cerrov, and niece, Shalindra; their mother promptly dispatches the pair to the southerly kingdom of Aennorve, and Varis becomes Ulor. As the years pass, Shalindra, confined to a remote island library, develops into a scholar--and also dabbles in necromancy herself after learning that the Librarian is secretly a necromancer, one concerned with liberating captive ghosts rather than compelling them. But those who practice necromancy almost always succumb to the necromantic dementia known as ``spifflication.'' Thoughtful, distinctive, unconventional, and shapely. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.