Barbara Hambly – författare

The second follow-up to Barbara Hambly’s enormously successful Dragonsbane.John Aversin and Jenny have returned to the Winterlands, where Jenny’s depression has deepened. Unable to help their son, Ian, through his own grief over separation from his demon, she returns alone to Frost Fell. Then, together with the great Black Dragon Morkeleb, they journey south to investigate rumours that someone has been raising the dead.Meanwhile, John is drawn into a dangerous bargain with the Demon Queen, whose formidable powers force John to begin a journey that will take him through a series of magical and terrifying Hells.Soon, John finds himself embroiled in worlds where he is clearly out of his depth, worlds inhabited by malevolent demons whose dark agenda sees them imprisoning the souls of the innocent in a bid for complete domination of both Man and Dragon.

A RETURN TO THE REALM OF DARWATH…Five years after the departure of the Dark from Darwath strange occurrences begin to develop in the Vale of Renwath. There are geological upheavals and an increasing amount of 'slunch' – a heavy, inedible, juiceless fungus. Cave bears, woolly mammoths and sabretooths seem to be flocking to the area. Even stranger are the sightings of 'thaght’n' – creatures who possess a kind of magic which even magician Rudy Solis cannot defeat or deceive. Thus as Gil, who crossed the void from present day California, and her lover, the wizard Ingold, return to the Keep from the flooded delta city of Penambra, they realise that something is desperately wrong …Something, somewhere, is attempting to terraform the world by the use of magic: to accelerate the rate of chilling until the temperature reaches the point that it – whatever 'it' is – finds comfortable …

A brilliant new fantasy from the author of the bestselling Darwath series, Icefalcon’s Quest is a follow-up to Hambly’s Mother of Winter.The Icefalcon’s first mistake was to rescue the old man named Linok. His second mistake was to leave Tir, his young charge in the old man’s care…Linok was not as he seemed, and when he disappeared, snatching Tir away with him, the Icefalcon begins a desparate quest to rescue his charge. But this will be no ordinary struggle, for against the Icefalcon come hellish furies – an army of ghostly soldiers horrifically constructed, demons of the air and magic so dark it terrifies him. There is also Hethya, the young woman who was once in Linok’s care. She claims to be possessed by a spirit who lived in the Time of the Dark and believes it knows the secret in the crypt below the Keep, the target against which all the forces of darkness are gathering…

The thundering conclusion to Barbara Hambly’s landmark quartet, The Winterlands, Dragonstar is a riot of magic, demons and dragons that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.Condemned to die for consorting with demons, dragonslayer Lord John Aversin sits in a dank prison cell and calculates the odds of escape, all the while smelling the smoke of the executioners’ pyres.Far away in Winterlands, Jenny Waynest pays a heavy price for turning away from dragonkind and choosing to be human. She mourns the loss of her husband, Lord John even as she turns to face the dangers that engulf her family.But it is the season of the Dragon Star, and hope shines brightest in the dark.As a pitched battle between demons and humanity rages, Jenny and John will be given one last chance to understand all that has happened to them and why, who their true enemies and allies are, and most of all, who they were always meant to be.

A rich and breath-taking fantasy classic full of whirlwind adventure, magic and dragons – Dragonsbane is the first book in Barbara Hambly’s landmark epic quartet, The Winterlands. When the Black Dragon seizes the capital of Bel, the young noble, Gareth, must journey into the decaying Northlands to find John Aversin, Dragonsbane – the only living man ever to slay a dragon. Upon arrival, Gareth also meets Jenny Waynest the half-taught sorceress and mother of Aversin's sons.A bargain is struck: witch and dragonkiller agree to rid the city of its monster in return for the king’s aid in their wintry home which is beset by bandits. But when they reach court, nothing is as they expected.For Gareth is no mere noble, and the king is in the thrall of a deeply evil power that seeks total control over the land. The kingdom crumbles. Perhaps the dragon that Jenny and John have been brought to slay is the least of their enemies…

A rich and breath-taking fantasy classic full of whirlwind adventure, magic and dragons – Dragonsbane is the first book in Barbara Hambly’s landmark epic quartet, The Winterlands. When the Black Dragon seizes the capital of Bel, the young noble, Gareth, must journey into the decaying Northlands to find John Aversin, Dragonsbane – the only living man ever to slay a dragon. Upon arrival, Gareth also meets Jenny Waynest the half-taught sorceress and mother of Aversin's sons.A bargain is struck: witch and dragonkiller agree to rid the city of its monster in return for the king’s aid in their wintry home which is beset by bandits. But when they reach court, nothing is as they expected.For Gareth is no mere noble, and the king is in the thrall of a deeply evil power that seeks total control over the land. The kingdom crumbles. Perhaps the dragon that Jenny and John have been brought to slay is the least of their enemies…

Dragonshadow is book two in the breath-taking The Winterlands – an epic, classic fantasy quartet full of whirlwind adventure, magic and dragons. Lord John Aversin and the mageborn Jenny Waynest continue to battle and study dragons. Many years have passed since their battle at Bel and while they remain strong, their love for one another has begun to wane with the passing seasons.But time moves against them in more ways than one. For a danger unlike any they have ever known in their long years of violence begins to stir.Demonspawn from a dark dimension have learned to drink the magic and the souls of mages and dragons alike, turning their victims into empty vessels. The demons are rising and have stolen the couple’s young son.In desperation, John seeks the help of the eldest and strongest dragon: Morkeleb the Black. But it may not be enough. In the coming struggle, all will question what they believe in, and some may have to sacrifice what they value most in order to survive…

Dragonshadow is book two in the breath-taking The Winterlands – an epic, classic fantasy quartet full of whirlwind adventure, magic and dragons. Lord John Aversin and the mageborn Jenny Waynest continue to battle and study dragons. Many years have passed since their battle at Bel and while they remain strong, their love for one another has begun to wane with the passing seasons.But time moves against them in more ways than one. For a danger unlike any they have ever known in their long years of violence begins to stir.Demonspawn from a dark dimension have learned to drink the magic and the souls of mages and dragons alike, turning their victims into empty vessels. The demons are rising and have stolen the couple’s young son.In desperation, John seeks the help of the eldest and strongest dragon: Morkeleb the Black. But it may not be enough. In the coming struggle, all will question what they believe in, and some may have to sacrifice what they value most in order to survive…

Knight of the Demon Queen is the third book in Barbara Hambly’s fantasy tour de force, The Winterlands – an epic, classic quartet full of high stakes, magic and dragons. Once the most powerful mage in the land, defeater of dragons, Jenny Waynest is now a broken woman.She was possessed and corrupted by a demon, losing all she held dear – including her love’s trust. Rebuilding her life seems impossible.Her husband, Lord John, now bears his own torment, far away: he tricked the beautiful and cruel Aohila a rival hell’s demon queen, in order to free his wife from possession and now he is plagued by her memories.Condemned to death for making deals with demons, John cannot forgive himself for opening the door to a far greater evil – an evil that now haunts his dreams. And not only his dreams…For the vengeful Aohila needs mortal aid in realms beyond her power, and who better to provide it than John? Blackmailed into cooperating, John must fight his way through unimaginable horrors in a quest that may doom the world he has left behind…

Knight of the Demon Queen is the third book in Barbara Hambly’s fantasy tour de force, The Winterlands – an epic, classic quartet full of high stakes, magic and dragons. Once the most powerful mage in the land, defeater of dragons, Jenny Waynest is now a broken woman.She was possessed and corrupted by a demon, losing all she held dear – including her love’s trust. Rebuilding her life seems impossible.Her husband, Lord John, now bears his own torment, far away: he tricked the beautiful and cruel Aohila a rival hell’s demon queen, in order to free his wife from possession and now he is plagued by her memories.Condemned to death for making deals with demons, John cannot forgive himself for opening the door to a far greater evil – an evil that now haunts his dreams. And not only his dreams…For the vengeful Aohila needs mortal aid in realms beyond her power, and who better to provide it than John? Blackmailed into cooperating, John must fight his way through unimaginable horrors in a quest that may doom the world he has left behind…

The thundering conclusion to Barbara Hambly’s landmark quartet, The Winterlands, Dragonstar is a riot of magic, demons and dragons that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. Condemned to die for consorting with demons, dragonslayer Lord John Aversin sits in a dank prison cell and calculates the odds of escape, all the while smelling the smoke of the executioners’ pyres.Far away in Winterlands, Jenny Waynest pays a heavy price for turning away from dragonkind and choosing to be human. She mourns the loss of her husband, Lord John even as she turns to face the dangers that engulf her family.But it is the season of the Dragon Star, and hope shines brightest in the dark.As a pitched battle between demons and humanity rages, Jenny and John will be given one last chance to understand all that has happened to them and why, who their true enemies and allies are, and most of all, who they were always meant to be.

The thundering conclusion to Barbara Hambly’s landmark quartet, The Winterlands, Dragonstar is a riot of magic, demons and dragons that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. Condemned to die for consorting with demons, dragonslayer Lord John Aversin sits in a dank prison cell and calculates the odds of escape, all the while smelling the smoke of the executioners’ pyres.Far away in Winterlands, Jenny Waynest pays a heavy price for turning away from dragonkind and choosing to be human. She mourns the loss of her husband, Lord John even as she turns to face the dangers that engulf her family.But it is the season of the Dragon Star, and hope shines brightest in the dark.As a pitched battle between demons and humanity rages, Jenny and John will be given one last chance to understand all that has happened to them and why, who their true enemies and allies are, and most of all, who they were always meant to be.

A whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes – The Time of the Dark is the first book in Barbara Hambly’s epic Darwath Trilogy. Gil Patterson is a woman familiar with dark stories.As a student of medieval history, she knows the Crusades, the Black Death, and the horrors of life in the Middle Ages. But it is another kind of darkness has begun to stalk her dreams: when she falls asleep she sees forces of evil assaulting a beleaguered kingdom, whose kind people are on the brink of annihilation, and awakes each morning in a cold sweat.Gil dismisses the dreams until a wizard appears in her apartment. He has crossed into her dimension, passing through the fraying fabric of the universe, to ask her help. For mankind to survive he must protect an infant prince, whom he plans to hide in Gil's world. The student of history is about to get much closer to evil than she ever imagined.

A whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes – The Time of the Dark is the first book in Barbara Hambly’s epic Darwath Trilogy. Gil Patterson is a woman familiar with dark stories.As a student of medieval history, she knows the Crusades, the Black Death, and the horrors of life in the Middle Ages. But it is another kind of darkness has begun to stalk her dreams: when she falls asleep she sees forces of evil assaulting a beleaguered kingdom, whose kind people are on the brink of annihilation, and awakes each morning in a cold sweat.Gil dismisses the dreams until a wizard appears in her apartment. He has crossed into her dimension, passing through the fraying fabric of the universe, to ask her help. For mankind to survive he must protect an infant prince, whom he plans to hide in Gil's world. The student of history is about to get much closer to evil than she ever imagined.

A whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes – The Time of the Dark is the first book in Barbara Hambly’s epic Darwath Trilogy.Gil Patterson is a woman familiar with dark stories.As a student of medieval history, she knows the Crusades, the Black Death, and the horrors of life in the Middle Ages. But it is another kind of darkness has begun to stalk her dreams: when she falls asleep she sees forces of evil assaulting a beleaguered kingdom, whose kind people are on the brink of annihilation, and awakes each morning in a cold sweat.Gil dismisses the dreams until a wizard appears in her apartment. He has crossed into her dimension, passing through the fraying fabric of the universe, to ask her help. For mankind to survive he must protect an infant prince, whom he plans to hide in Gil''s world. The student of history is about to get much closer to evil than she ever imagined.

A whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes – The Walls of Air is the second book in Barbara Hambly’s epic Darwath Trilogy. Once upon a time, Gil and Rudy lived simple lives.Until they met Ingold, Gil was an ordinary PhD candidate and Rudy was a drifter, whiling away his life riding motorcycles under the California sun. But wizards have a way of complicating things. Ingold brought them across the Void, where an evil known as the Dark threatened to devour civilization whole.Civilization’s hopes rested on an infant prince, and to protect him Gil and Rudy had to draw on newfound powers — she as a warrior, he as a wizard. With Ingold’s help they escaped the Dark, and led a hardy band of survivors to a far-away keep, where humanity could be safe for a time.But now that time is past, they have been found, and there is nowhere to hide from the Dark.

A whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes – The Walls of Air is the second book in Barbara Hambly’s epic Darwath Trilogy. Once upon a time, Gil and Rudy lived simple lives.Until they met Ingold, Gil was an ordinary PhD candidate and Rudy was a drifter, whiling away his life riding motorcycles under the California sun. But wizards have a way of complicating things. Ingold brought them across the Void, where an evil known as the Dark threatened to devour civilization whole.Civilization’s hopes rested on an infant prince, and to protect him Gil and Rudy had to draw on newfound powers — she as a warrior, he as a wizard. With Ingold’s help they escaped the Dark, and led a hardy band of survivors to a far-away keep, where humanity could be safe for a time.But now that time is past, they have been found, and there is nowhere to hide from the Dark.

A whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes – The Walls of Air is the second book in Barbara Hambly’s epic Darwath Trilogy.Once upon a time, Gil and Rudy lived simple lives.Until they met Ingold, Gil was an ordinary PhD candidate and Rudy was a drifter, whiling away his life riding motorcycles under the California sun. But wizards have a way of complicating things. Ingold brought them across the Void, where an evil known as the Dark threatened to devour civilization whole.Civilization’s hopes rested on an infant prince, and to protect him Gil and Rudy had to draw on newfound powers — she as a warrior, he as a wizard. With Ingold’s help they escaped the Dark, and led a hardy band of survivors to a far-away keep, where humanity could be safe for a time.But now that time is past, they have been found, and there is nowhere to hide from the Dark.

A whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes – The Armies of Daylight is the third and final book in Barbara Hambly’s epic Darwath Trilogy. Since the Dark Ones returned, the world has been laid to waste.The wizards have been slaughtered, cities destroyed, and people have scattered in terror.Few have witnessed more of the destruction than Rudy and Gil — two ordinary Californians who found their way across the Void, and took up arms in defence of a strange and magical world. She learned the ways of war, while he found within himself the powers of a great wizard. Both of them will need all their strength to survive this final challenge. Ingold, the master wizard, has devised a spell to hide the user from the deathly stare of the Dark, and he intends to use it to strike at their very heart.Finally, Rudy, Gil, and the rest of mankind’s survivors will take the offensive, bringing an end to this terrible war, for better or for worse.

A whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes – The Armies of Daylight is the third and final book in Barbara Hambly’s epic Darwath Trilogy. Since the Dark Ones returned, the world has been laid to waste.The wizards have been slaughtered, cities destroyed, and people have scattered in terror.Few have witnessed more of the destruction than Rudy and Gil — two ordinary Californians who found their way across the Void, and took up arms in defence of a strange and magical world. She learned the ways of war, while he found within himself the powers of a great wizard. Both of them will need all their strength to survive this final challenge. Ingold, the master wizard, has devised a spell to hide the user from the deathly stare of the Dark, and he intends to use it to strike at their very heart.Finally, Rudy, Gil, and the rest of mankind’s survivors will take the offensive, bringing an end to this terrible war, for better or for worse.

A whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes – The Armies of Daylight is the third and final book in Barbara Hambly’s epic Darwath Trilogy.Since the Dark Ones returned, the world has been laid to waste.The wizards have been slaughtered, cities destroyed, and people have scattered in terror.Few have witnessed more of the destruction than Rudy and Gil — two ordinary Californians who found their way across the Void, and took up arms in defence of a strange and magical world. She learned the ways of war, while he found within himself the powers of a great wizard. Both of them will need all their strength to survive this final challenge. Ingold, the master wizard, has devised a spell to hide the user from the deathly stare of the Dark, and he intends to use it to strike at their very heart.Finally, Rudy, Gil, and the rest of mankind’s survivors will take the offensive, bringing an end to this terrible war, for better or for worse.

In A Free Man of Color and Sold Down the River, Benjamin January guided readers through the seductive maze of New Orleans'' darkest quarters. Now January joins the orchestra of the city''s top opera house — only to become enmeshed in a web of hate and greed more murderous than any drama onstage.In 1835, the cold February streets glitter with masked revelers in Carnival costumes. An even more brilliant display is promised at the American Theater, where impresario Lorenzo Belaggio has brought the first Italian opera to town. But it''s pitch-black in the muddy alley outside the stage door when Benjamin January, coming from rehearsal with the orchestra, hears a slurred whisper, sees the flash of a knife, and is himself wounded as he rescues Belaggio from a vicious attack.The bombastic impresario first accuses two of his tenors, then suspects his rival, the manager of New Orleans'' other opera company. Could competition for audiences really provoke such violent skulduggery? Or has Belaggio taken too many chances in the catfight between two sopranos, one superseded by the other as his mistress and his prima donna?But burning in January''s mind and heart is a darker possibility. The opera Belaggio plans to present — a magnificent version of Othello — strikes a shocking chord in this culture. Is the murderous tragedy of the noble Moor and his lady, the spectacle of a black man''s passion for a white beauty, one that some Creole citizen — or American parvenu — would do anything to keep off the stage? Bloody threats and voodoo signs, poison and brutal murder seem to implicate many strange bedfellows. And Benjamin must discover who — in rage, retribution, or an insidious new commerce in this beautiful cutthroat city — will kill and kill ... and who will Die Upon a Kiss.From the Hardcover edition.

The novels of New York Times bestselling author Barbara Hambly have broken new ground in the realm of fantasy. With a sweeping cast of characters whose powers are both awesome and heartachingly limited, the Dragon series is built around the touching relationship between a husband and wife separated by a flood of violence and chaos. Condemned to die for consorting with demons, dragonslayer Lord John Aversin sits in a dank prison cell and calculates the odds of escape, while smelling the smoke of the executioners’ pyres. In Winterlands, Jenny Waynest pays a heavy price for choosing to be human, mourning the loss of her husband, Lord John, and the dangers that engulf her family. But in a season of the Dragon Star, strange miracles are about to transpire.As a pitched battle between the Hellspawn and the human rages, Jenny and John will be reunited in a city under siege. And there, they will have one last chance to understand all that has happened to them and why, who their true enemies and true allies are, and most of all, for what magical purpose each has been chosen.A vast adventure and a powerful mystery teeming with demons and witches, gnomes and dragons, Dragonstar explores profound issues of faith, fate, and technology–while obscuring long held boundaries between good and evil, love and hate, what is human and what is fantastic. With this glorious finale to a breathtaking series, Barbara Hambly establishes herself as one of the most visionary and inventive storytellers in the field of fantasy fiction today.From the Hardcover edition.

Lord John Aversin--with the help of his mageborn wife, Jenny Waynest-- has fought and defeated two dragons, earning the title of Dragonsbane. But there are creatures more terrifying than dragons. Demonspawn from a dark dimension have learned to drink the magic--and the souls--of mages and dragons alike, turning their victims into empty vessels. And now they''ve stolen John and Jenny''s mageborn son, twelve-year-old Ian.In desperation, John seeks the help of the eldest and strongest dragon: Morkeleb the Black. But the demons have allies, too: a vast army poised to plunge the Realm into civil war. In the coming struggle, Morkeleb will sacrifice what he values most. Jenny will question everything she trusts and believes in. And John will embark on a perilous quest for the only things capable of defeating such powerful demons--even more powerful demons . . .From the Paperback edition.

Once the most powerful mage in the land, Jenny Waynest is now a broken woman. After being possessed and corrupted by the demon Amayon, she lost everything she holds dear--even the trust of her husband. Yet Lord John Aversin has torments of his own: memories of the beautiful and cruel Aohila, demon queen of a rival hell, whom he''d tricked into providing the help he needed to free Jenny. Now, condemned to death for trafficking with demons, John cannot forgive himself for opening the door to a far greater evil--an evil that still haunts his dreams. And not only his dreams . . . For a vengeful Aohila needs mortal aid in realms beyond her power, and who better to provide it than Lord John? Blackmailed into cooperating, John must fight his way through unimaginable horrors in quest of a prize that may doom the world he has left behind . . .From the Paperback edition.

A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.It is 1833. In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d''Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city''s finest company, has been strangled to death. With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben—for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....From the Paperback edition.

Benjamin January made his debut in bestselling author Barbara Hambly''s A Free Man of Color, a haunting mélange of history and mystery. Now he returns in another novel of greed, madness, and murder amid the dark shadows and dazzling society of old New Orleans, named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times.The summer of 1833 has been one of brazen heat and brutal pestilence, as the city is stalked by Bronze John—the popular name for the deadly yellow fever epidemic that tests the healing skills of doctor and voodoo alike. Even as Benjamin January tends the dying at Charity Hospital during the steaming nights, he continues his work as a music teacher during the day.When he is asked to pass a message from a runaway slave to the servant of one of his students, January finds himself swept into a tempest of lies, greed, and murder that rivals the storms battering New Orleans. And to find the truth he must risk his freedom...and his very life.From the Paperback edition.