Today, I’m excited to share another #FearlessWomen title. It’s an excerpt from Starless by Jacqueline Carey, which releases today. The Kushiel books have been on TBR for a while, I’ve heard so many great things, and am excited to try out this new release which features gods among mortals.
About FearlessWomen
(from Tor Books)
Women are shining in every genre of speculative fiction, and it is no longer enough to say “Women are here.” Instead, #FearlessWomen everywhere are taking a stand to say “Women will thrive here.”
Highlighting major titles from bestselling authors V.E. Schwab, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jacqueline Carey as well as titles from acclaimed and debut authors such as Mary Robinette Kowal, Tessa Gratton, Sam Hawke, and Robyn Bennis, #FearlessWomen will be a coordinated social media celebration encouraging fans to start a dialogue about women in publishing, their worlds, their voices, and their unique stories.
Tor Books’ handles across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@torbooks) will be using the hashtags #FearlessWomen (and #FearlessFantasy and #FearlessSF) to promote excerpts, exclusive content, quizzes and giveaways beginning in May. There will also be exclusive giveaways at BookCon, San Diego Comic-Con, and New York Comic Con. Follow Tor Books online, join the conversation – and get reading!
About the Book
Jacqueline Carey is back with an amazing adventure not seen since her New York Times bestselling Kushiel’s Legacy series. Lush and sensual, Starless introduces us to an epic world where exiled gods live among us, and a hero whose journey will resonate long after the last page is turned.
I was nine years old the first time I tried to kill a man…
Destined from birth to serve as protector of the princess Zariya, Khai is trained in the arts of killing and stealth by a warrior sect in the deep desert; yet there is one profound truth that has been withheld from him.
In the court of the Sun-Blessed, Khai must learn to navigate deadly intrigue and his own conflicted identity…but in the far reaches of the western seas, the dark god Miasmus is rising, intent on nothing less than wholesale destruction.
If Khai is to keep his soul’s twin Zariya alive, their only hope lies with an unlikely crew of prophecy-seekers on a journey that will take them farther beneath the starless skies than anyone can imagine.
Exclusive Excerpt:
Thus armed, I set forth across the Mirror of Heaven, heading in a straight line toward the rising sun.
For the first couple of hours, I felt strong and fresh. I kept a slow, steady pace. I kept my head low, shielding my eyes from the sun’s glare. Although I was mindful of the desert’s peril, I was young and strong and fit. A day’s walk, even through the worst heat of the day, should not be too difficult to bear. I needn’t worry about keeping watch for snakes or scorpions in the Mirror. Sunstroke and heat prostration were the only things I need fear, and so long as I was careful not to overexert myself and to drink sparingly at regular intervals, I would be fine.
Or at least so I thought.
As the sun climbed higher, it became obvious that I had greatly underestimated the effect of the Mirror. The glittering white plain reflected the sun’s light until it became a dazzling glare from which there was no escape; and as the sun traveled across the sky, I could no longer use it as a guidepost toward due east, but must rely on landmarks. While there were none in the Mirror itself, there was a two- pronged mountain peak in the distance that Brother Merik had told me I could use to orient myself. It had seemed an easy enough thing to do in the gentle grey light of dawn, but in the blinding light of midday, my vision swam and I feared to trust it.
Brightness above, brightness below. I thought of t hose mariners from days of old who were accustomed to navigate by the stars, and how they must have felt when the children of heaven fell to earth and darkness swallowed the night skies, leaving them directionless and lost.
I . . . I was being swallowed by light.
About Jacqueline Carey
JACQUELINE CAREY is the author of the New York Times bestselling Kushiel’s Legacy series of historical fantasy novels, The Sundering epic fantasy duology, postmodern fables “Santa Olivia” and “Saints Astray,” and the Agent of Hel contemporary fantasy series. Carey lives in western Michigan.
Check out more #FearlessWomen content, reviews and excerpts at these blogs:
- This is a Metaphor
- Dark Faerie Tales
- Cherry Blossoms & Maple Syrup
- SciFiChick
- Books, Bones, & Buffy
- The Bibliosanctum
- Itching for Books
- Across the Words
- Fantasy Literature
You haven’t read Kushiel?!?
Man, I am really looking forward to Starless, can’t wait til my copy arrives in the mail today.
Lisa recently posted…Book Review: A Warden’s Purpose by Jeffrey L. Kohanek
I love this excerpt. I’m trying to piece together the story by reading them all but I think I’ll have to read the whole book to figure out what’s going on?
Tammy @Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…#FearlessWomen Blog Tour: STARLESS by Jacqueline Carey
I did read this one
Gah, read Kushiel! I’m super excited about Starless, but Kushiel’s Dart will always have a special place in my heart.
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…#FearlessWomen: Starless by Jacqueline Carey Spotlight & Exclusive Excerpt