A gripping fantasy, full of mystery and adventure, with a brave and likeable heroine who can humble strong men with her eyes alone...Dina has inherited the Shamer's Gift from her mother - when people look into her eyes, they are forced to acknowledge all their weaknesses and guilt. Now Drakan, the Dragon Lord of Dunark who once tried to feed Dina's mother to his revolting dragons, is ruthlessly hunting down Shamers in order to burn them at the stake. He is the only completely shameless human being Dina has ever met. If simple human decency is to survive, Drakan must be opposed. But rebellions need leaders, and what better choice than the legitimate heir to the lordship of Dunark, Dina's friend Nico? Never mind that Nico hates swords and is reluctant even to kill a rabbit. Everyone wants him to be a hero. But as Nico points out to Dina, heroes have a nasty habit of ending up dead...
Lene Kaaberbøl was born in Copenhagen in 1960, with suitable drama: the obstetrician had to rush from banquet and was still wearing his white tie and tails. She was 15 when her first two books were published, and since then she has written more than thirty novels and children's books. She has won several national and international awards for her fiction, and her work has been translated into more than 30 languages. At her recent nomination for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the IBBY Committee wrote: "She is incredibly skilled at constructing universes and shows remarkable loyalty to her stories and her characters. Lene Kaaberbøl's writing captivates the reader; her worlds draw you in, move you, make you laugh and cry and give you ample food for thought. And it is our assessment that her works have not just national and international potential, but the potential to become classics."
While fantasy is her preferred genre when writing for children and YA, there is nothing remotely fairytale-like about her crime novels for adults. The Boy in the Suitcase, written in collaboration with Agnete Friis, was called a "first rate thriller" by Michelle Wiener of Associated Press: "Written in that sparse, uniquely Scandinavian style sure to draw comparisons with a certain blockbuster trilogy (this is better), this story packs plenty of emotional suspense and interpersonal friction without veering into melodrama."
"I really enjoy writing in many different worlds - including our own - and for many different audiences. I sometimes feel it's the literary version of living in an auto camper: you can always change the view, and you're constantly meeting new people," says Kaaberbøl, who in real life lives in an old water mill in the countryside near Aarhus, Denmark, with her four dogs.
