This Forsaken Earth

✍ Scribed by Paul Kearney

• Publisher: Bantam
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 232 KB
• Category: Fiction

✦ Synopsis

Hes spoken of only in whispers. His origins are a mystery. Some say that hes descended from the last of the angels. Others say much worse. By all appearances, Rol Cortishane is just another ruthless pirate roaming the lawless seas, raiding warships and slavers. But the truth is something far more complicated and dangerous than anyone can imagine, including Rol. Even as he seeks to escape his birthright, Rol is slowly discovering whoand whathe really is. But the revelation wont come without exacting a terrible price from Rol and all he loves. Now a treacherous figure from his past has made him a proposition it would be fatal to turn down. Racing against time, Rol must chart a harrowing course across the sea, back to the beautiful Rowen and the people she would rule as Queen. With his steadfast crewthe battle-scarred Creed, the mirthful halftroll Gallico, and a young escaped slave named GiffonRol will plunge headlong into a destiny as dark as they come. And toward a terrifying battle against an enemy as determined to destroy the world as Rol is to save it.

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Kearney's rousing sequel to The Mark of Ran (2005), Rol Cortishane, the youthful captain of the privateer Revenant, captures a slaver and frees its chained slaves. Back in the harbor of Ganesh Ka in the land of Umer, Rol encounters an untrustworthy acquaintance he hasn't seen in years, Canker, a former king of thieves, who urges Rol to join in the fight to save Rowen, a darkly beautiful queen, whose throne is at risk in mountainous Bionar. That Rowen is Rol's half-sister for whom he has lusted in the past doesn't make Rol's decision to help an easy one. If as in The Mark of Ran the action is more lively at sea than on land, Kearney's solid storytelling and nautical detail worthy of C.S. Forester or Patrick O'Brian will keep readers turning the pages. (Dec.)
Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The sequel to The Mark of Ran (2005) finds heroic young Rol Cortishane grown to be a much-feared sea captain. Deciding to ignore his mysterious past, he spends his energy on ship and crew. He is still an outlaw, however, and the only port he can call home is Ganesh Ka, the endangered city of exiles. When word comes from Rowan, his half-sister, asking him to fight on her behalf, he must weigh the safety of Ganesh Ka against Rowan's treachery in the past. Finally persuaded to aid Rowan, he learns more of betrayal and his heritage in the ensuing battles than he had wanted to know. Kearney's characters are much better developed here than they were in The Mark of Ran, and since the book tells a single story, the plot is tighter. Moreover, because almost all the action transpires in the here and now, the sequel can be read without reference to the predecessor. Since it ends hanging on a particularly bloody cliff, expect to see more of Kearney's excellent maritime fantasy. Frieda Murray
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved

Library : Fantasy
Universes : The Sea Beggars [02]
Formats : EPUB
ISBN : 9780553383638