Silverhand (The Arcana, Book 1) [Hardcover]

Morgan Llywelyn (Author), Michael Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1995 | Series: Silverhand

Chronicles the life of Silverhand, a man who has been destined to save a stricken world from the evil forces of Chaos and rebuild his people's home to the level of glory that survives only in their hearts and memories.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Llywelyn (The Last Prince of Ireland) and Scott (Tales of the Bard) have set this entrancing novel, their first collaboration, in a semimedieval, far-future fantasy world. This concocted realm serves them exceptionally well as they layer shades of gray into the politics of their heroes while doing devilishly evil things with their amoral villains. Some of the most compelling evil magicians to appear in current fantasy are the Duet, a brother-and-sister team who use their incestuous relationship to raise tantric magic and control the powerful Voids. Youthful hero Caeled loses his mother in the wake of one such display. As the stunned boy wanders away from his devastated village, he is rescued by a monk who believes he may be the Spoken One, a prophesied hero who will be able to wield the magical implements of the Arcana. But before the monk can safely deliver Caeled to his superiors, the pair are attacked by a weredog and the boy loses an arm. The monks use long-dormant technologies to construct a prosthetic silver hand for the youth?a symbol that holds great mystical power. Caeled then sets out to seek the Arcana. This rich tale shows how good fantasy can be when its authors neither denigrate their audience's intelligence nor obscure their ideas with overwrought language and overblown symbologies. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Young Caeled lives in a Celtic-like future or alternate world that is spotted with areas of "gray nothingness" marking pockets of the Void in which nothing can exist. Returning to his village, he finds every organic thing has dissolved into a reeking, gelatinous sludge. He heads south and ends up in a community of scholars in which he learns his destiny is to be the Spoken One, the instrument for defeating the evil Duet--royal twins, brother and sister, who through their sexual passion can use the Void to kill. Although this tale lacks the lyricism and the depth of Celtic lore expected of coauthor Llywelyn by readers of such fine novels as Lion of Ireland (1980) and Finn Mac Cool (1994), it is a compelling, fast-paced fantasy that begins a projected series called the Arcana. Sally Estes

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Baen; 1st edition (April 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067187652X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671876524
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,462,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much gore, April 29, 2000

By 

Kris Navid (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silverhand (The Arcana, Book 1) (Vol 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading everything Morgan Llywelyn has written, this was my last stop. I was very disappointed with this book, I could tell the horror parts written with Michael Scott's influence. Cannibalism, incest, monsters, people turning into jelly, after a while the shock loses its influence, and the reader becomes inured to the violence. I agree with those who say that Morgan Llywelyn should do her own thing from now on. That, and the fact that there will be no book 3, probably means this book is not worth the time to read it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both exciting and sympathetic.A young man chosen without his, March 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Silverhand (The Arcana, Book 1) (Vol 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Orphaned by an account he cannot fathom our hero strives to survive in an unforgiving and hostile world. Maimed to save his soul he is nursed back to health and schooled by the priests who have their own agenda for him. His only home/sanctuary destroyed by the evil twins he sets out on a quest to discover the powers of the Arcana and their part in destroying the Twins.His allies a half stone warrior woman, a vampire who loves him and a werewolf who is his equal in battle and brains. A totally enjoyable and exciting tale of self sacrafice, supernatural and trials of life itself. Can't wait for the third installment.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, May 3, 2006

By 

John Forman "Author -The Essentials of Trading" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Silverhand (The Arcana, Book 1) (Vol 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

When I started reading Silverhand, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I've read loads of Llywelyn's books previously and have enjoyed most of them very much. Any time an author teams up with someone else, though, one can't help but wonder what impact there will be, especially when the general subject matter is quite different than their previous works.

Most people will agree that near the top of the list of criteria for a quality work of fiction is it's ability to draw the reader in and keep their attention. Silverhand certainly did that in my case. I had a very hard time putting the book down - finding myself reading way more pages in a sitting than I would normally do for most books. I can't really say why that was. It was kind of a hypnotic thing, I guess. Regardless, I'm looking forward to continuing the series.