The Thirteenth Scroll [Mass Market Paperback]

Rebecca Neason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

At 17, Lysandra witnessed the brutal murder of her family and lost her sight. Ten years later, she is a master healer and clairvoyant. Lysandra encounters Father Renan, who explains that the two of them are chosen to install the rightful queen of Aghamore on the throne. If they fail, the kingdom will be plunged into a millennium of darkness and tyranny.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Upon the death of the king of Aghamore, the blind healer Lysandra begins to have dark, compelling dreams of unrest that call her from her quiet forest home to pursue a desperate purpose. In the outside world, power-hungry Baron Geraldis and his sorcerous consort, Aurya, have plotted and schemed to win Geraldis the throne. Their only worry lies in the prophetic warning in an ancient scroll that a child will usurp the ascendant's claim. Lysandra, guided by the same scroll and armed with only her gift of magical sight and a powerful sense of rightness, sets out with two others to find and protect the child. They head north at the same time as Aurya and Geraldis, who are hell-bent on finding and destroying the mysterious youngster. Thus begins the battle between the forces of light and those of darkness for the life of Selia, who is destined to rule Aghamore as wisdom incarnate--if she survives. A satisfying story that provokes readers to examine the meaning of truth in their own hearts. Paula Luedtke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446609536
• ISBN-13: 978-0446609531
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,871,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Archetypes like Tolkien's and C.S. Lewis', September 21, 2001

By 

Barbara B. Snow "Author, The Sudden Caregiver... (Alameda, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Thirteenth Scroll (Mass Market Paperback)

Fantasy is imagination stretched into the shape of possible truth. The strength of Thirteenth Scroll lies in how it shows the incremental decisions which shape human intentions into individual paths of ultimate extreme.

The tragedy that begins Lysandra's journey is devasting enough for modern times, her own rape and the murder of all who love her who rush to help. The following years of darkness and tortuous healing resonate truthfully, just as her slow gain in confidence and struggle with forces outside herself as she moves toward her destiny show the phases of a hero's struggle. The male hero Renan, a priest with a questionable past, shows not only the inner struggle of pure intention but also the complexity of confusion in his struggle to confront himself honestly. The romance that sneaks up on both heroes proves the subtlety and self-will of human emotion.

The villains are drawn with like complexity, showing the beginning hurt and increasing hardening of Arya as she grabs for more and greater power and the selfishness and greedy passiveness of simplistic Giraldus.

The descriptions of magic and supernatural healing are detailed and intense enough to make them credible. The young Cryf Talog is a fresh archetype, a being who can see better in the dark than the light and one whose seeing encompasses more than physical eyes. The Sight that comes to blind Lysandra more often and more clearly as she grows spiritually echoes this theme of seeing with intuition and the heart, and in connection with other beings. The power and necessity of alliances is another theme that recurrs effectively.

This book has soul. The story takes the reader quickly along the journey with the characters. The writing is fresh, sensual and evocative. This is a story to settle in with and keep on going.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book!, July 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Thirteenth Scroll (Mass Market Paperback)

The 13th Scroll has everything you want in a fantasy--action, romance, magic, intrigue, prophecy-all driven by crisp, intelligence prose.

The heroine is fully realized-a woman of courage, struggling not only against a hostile world and dangerous magic, but with her own fears. Her adversary is every bit as strong, driven by a bitter past, and enormous ambition.

The Cryf (intelligent beings who live underground) are an utterly unique race who have hidden from humanity for centuries.

The 13th Scroll is driven by its plot (I stayed up to late on several work nights), but it is also a thoughtful book, asking its characters to face ethical and religious questions which provide no easy answers.

To sum it up-this book is a lot of fun. Give yourself a treat and pick it up.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good story, Good writing, July 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Thirteenth Scroll (Mass Market Paperback)

I highly recommend this book not only to fans of medieval fantasy, but to readers who just enjoy a well-written story with memorable characters. As a Star Trek fan, I discovered Ms. Neason as the author of "Guises of the Mind", my favorite Star Trek book. She also wrote two excellent Highlander novels. I am very glad she is now writing in her own fascinating and very interesting world and I sincerely hope that "Thirteenth Scroll" has many sequels.