by Barbara Hambly

In 1985, Barbara Hambly published Dragonsbane, the story of how 'a bespectacled amateur engineer who collected lore about pigs' and his mage-born mistress went south to slay the black dragon Morkeleb but ended up allying with him to save the kingdom from a much more terrible enemy. Dragonshadow continues the story of John Aversin, the Dragonsbane, Jenny Waynest, the Witch of Frost Fell, and Morkeleb.

It's four years later, and John and Jenny find themselves facing mages and dragons controlled by demons who have trapped their souls. One of the captured mages is Ian, their 12-year-old son. Jenny and Morkeleb are also at risk, and to save them all John bargains his own soul as the forfeit if he cannot pay a demon's price.

Hambly creates a believable setting and compellingly real characters without sacrificing the sense of a truly magical world, both beautiful and deadly. This is not yet another predictable sword and sorcery tale. This story concerns the temptations of power and the cost of resisting evil. Grief and loss are inescapable. Unlike Dragonsbane, however, Dragonshadow promises readers another book in which, perhaps, the protagonists will find peace and healing. --Nona Vero