Voidfarer: A Tale of the Moonworlds Saga

by Sean McMullen

Overview

At first Wayfarer Inspector Danolarian thought the huge oval thing that had fallen from the sky was a dragon's egg. When it opened, however, he knew that it was much, much worse. His world was being invaded by pitiless sorcerers from Lupan, who could sweep whole armies aside, and even defeat the invulnerable glass dragons. Surrender or flight were the only options ... but not for Inspector Danolarian, his Wayfarer Constables, and his sweetheart, the sorceress Lavenci.

Although Danolarian is no sorcerer, he's no ordinary Wayfarer either. Faced with civilization crumbling around him, and organized resistance shattered by the invincible magic of the Lupanians, he chances upon an unlikely ally and begins to fight back. It won't be easy, for he has to rally the demoralized sorcerers of Alberin, organize its terrified citizens, stay one step ahead of his own past, and, most importantly, survive a dinner party with Lavenci's mother.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466822047
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/03/2007
Series:	The Moonworlds Saga , #3
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

SEAN MCMULLEN is one Australia's leading SF and fantasy authors, and lives in Melbourne. He has had a dozen books published, and is the winner of thirteen awards for SF and fantasy.

Sean McMullen is one of the leading Australian SF authors to emerge during the 1990s, having won more than a dozen national awards in his homeland. In addition, he has sold many short stories to magazines such as Analog, Interzone, and Fantasy&Science Fiction, and was co-author of Strange Constellations, a History of Australian SF. He established himself in the American market with the publication of the Greatwinter trilogy (comprised of Souls in the Great Machine, The Miocene Arrow, and Eyes of the Calculor). His fiction has been translated into Polish, French, and Japanese. The settings for Sean's work range from the Roman Empire, through Medieval Europe, to cities of the distant future.

He has bachelor's and master's degrees from Melbourne University, and post-graduate diplomas in computer science, information science and business management. He is currently doing a PhD in Medieval Fantasy Literature at Melbourne University, where he is also the deputy instructor at the campus karate club, and a member of the fencing club. Before he began writing, Sean spent several years in student reviews and theatre, and was lead singer in three rock and folk bands. After singing in several early music groups and choirs, he spent two years in the Victorian State Opera before he began writing.

He lives in Melbourne with his wife Trish and daughter Catherine.

Editorial Reviews

In Australian author McMullen's zany, if somewhat choppy, reworking of The War of the Worlds, his third Moonworlds novel (after 2004's Glass Dragons), sorcerers from the nearby planet Lupanar invade the world of Scalticar, traveling in cylinders that include such familiar Wellsian trappings as tripod fighting machines equipped with heat rays. The poorly led defenders have few weapons more advanced than bows and arrows. Fortunately, Insp. Danolarian Scyverin of the Wayfarer Constables can turn for help to such friends and allies as the 87-pound Constable Riellen, gifted at both mayhem and rabble-rousing; Constable Waller, in the form of a talking cat; and a beautiful and shrewd woman, Lavenczi, for whom the inspector has conceived a passion. While Lavenczi is under a magical glamour that keeps her from being touched, she still has the wits to capture two of the Lupanians' fighting machines and turn them against their creators. Fans of Wells's masterpiece will revel in this fantasy; others may find the frequent scene shifts and large cast of characters more confusing than not. (Feb.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

An ovoid object falls from the sky, leading Wayfarer Constable Danolarian to believe that it is a dragon's egg. Upon hatching, however, the object reveals an invasion force of sorcerers from the world of Lupan, come to conquer. Danolarian refuses to allow his world to fall and enlists the aid of his sorceress girlfriend (and her formidable mother), as well as the dispirited sorcerers of Alberin. Australian fantasy author McMullen's latest installment in his "Moonworlds Saga" (Glass Dragons; Voyage of the Shadow Moon) offers new heroes and villains and a look at the unusually talented group of peacemakers known as the Wayfarer Constable. Superb storytelling and an unusual setting make this a first-rate addition to most fantasy collections. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Imagine Alexandre Dumas's account of H.G. Wells's Martians invading Terry Pratchett's Discworld. On Earth-like Verral, one of the moonworlds that orbit ringed planet Miral, Wayfarer Constable Inspector Danolarian Scryverin (Voyage of the Shadowmoon, 2002) has assumed the identity of a dead adventurer to conceal his aristocratic background. Ordered to track down the missing Empress, Wensomer, Danolarian and his constables pursue a trail that leads to the royal observatory high in the mountains, where Danolarian corners the empress-a powerful sorceress in no mood to be trifled with. Meanwhile, red, Mars-like moonworld Lupan rocks to a series of ten vast explosions, as if sorcery has run out of control there. On returning to the city Alberin, Danolarian finds that he and his love, Lavenci (Wensomer's sister), have been magically chained together yet unable to touch without feeling agonizing pain. Meanwhile, the first cylinder-for yes, the explosions were caused by voidships being launched from Lupan-arrives, to disgorge large, tentacled creatures who swiftly construct a huge, fighting tripod complete with devastating heat ray that can melt stone from a mile away. The invading Lupanians, it turns out, are sorcerers who revel in the much richer etheric forces available on Verral, and who seek to drain their victims of life-force. Verral is doomed, or so it would seem. A vibrant, thoughtful, spectacular adventure-drama that sags only a trifle towards the end. McMullen borrows freely, but weaves his own magical comedy of horrors. The result: a blast.

Kirkus Reviews