Finally a new series has been created to rival the likes of Kevin Crossley-Holland's Arthur trilogy and Michelle Pavers Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. The Perfect Fire by Katie Grant is a stunning trilogy and the first book Blue Flame really sets the tone for a fantastic action packed adventure.
Each book in stock is signed, lined, dated and numbered.
Review
With this gorgeously and intricately braided novel, the first in the Perfect Fire trilogy, K M Grant provides a top-notch tale of star-crossed lovers, intrigue, twisted religious hatreds and the mystical power of landscape - Financial Times
Product Description
Up in the hills of Languedoc, Raoul de Bertrand tends to a small blue flame in a filigree box, a flame lit at the moment of Christ's death when the veil of the Temple was rent in two. Raoul has been hiding here since, as a boy, he inadvertently shot Richard the Lionheart with his crossbow, a crime for which his father was killed. It was for this flame that Richard the Lionheart came to Chalus Chabrol, for the possessor of the flame appears to have the authority of God Himself in all his actions. Sir Bertrand, facing certain death, entrusted the flame to Raoul, telling him this is the flame of salvation and is waiting to be claimed by a good man who will use it to heal rather than destroy. It is essential, therefore, that the flame is given to the right person. His father has been waiting for years for that person, without success, and it is his dying wish that Raoul succeeds. Raoul promises. By 1242, war has all but broken out between the Catholics who control northern France and the Languedoc region, where many religions co-exist in peace. This battle finally draws Raoul out of hiding, as he becomes aware, the fight is for his blue flame...Making friends with a young couple caught on either side of the conflict, Rauol reveals his secret to Raimon, a Cathar, and Yolanda, a Catholic. As the conflict grows bloodier by the day, and Raimon is accused of murdering numerous Catholics, including Yolanda's uncle, will their love survive? And more importantly, will they?
From the Inside Flap
Chalus Chabrol, 1199. The Occitanian knights battle for their lives against Richard the Lionheart. They are guarding the Blue Flame under which all Occitanians must unite to resist invasion. But the knights cannot survive and so it falls to Parsifal, a young son of the knight Bernard, to travel on alone and find the true keeper of the Flame. Yet when Parsifal returns home, the Occitan is ablaze. Catholic Inquisitors and Cathar heretics, far from uniting, are fighting each other for the soul of the land and its people. To which sect does the Blue Flame belong?
Parsifal's path intertwines with Raimon, son of a Cathar weaver, and Yolanda, daughter of a Catholic count. They are falling in love. But in a time of hate, love is never left in peace. With family against family, north against south and Catholic against Cathar, Raimon must help Parsifal find the Blue Flame's true meaning before the Occitan is destroyed.
From the Back Cover
Before Occitania burns to ashes, the mysterious Blue Flame - the guardian of the Occitan's soul - must find its rightful inheritor. In the right hands it could be the Occitan's saviour. In the wrong, her ruin.
Packed with suspense, danger and spine-tingling adventure this stunning story, with a romance at its heart and a richly woven historical backdrop, grips the reader on every page.
About the Author
Katie Grant has written several books of historical fiction. She is also a journalist and broadcaster, currently writing a weekly column for the Ecosse Section of the Sunday Times. She is a columnist on the Scottish Daily Mail, whilst producing pieces or features for other papers as required, when not deep in a novel. She lives in Glasgow with her husband and three children.
Product details
- First Edition First Printing
- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Quercus Publishing Plc (3 April 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1847241093
- ISBN-13: 978-1847241092
- Product Dimensions: 20 x 13.2 x 2.8 cm
