The Bear and the Serpent is the second book in Adrian Tchaikovsky's epic fantasy series, Echoes of the Fall, following The Tiger and the Wolf.
As the south is in turmoil, an old terror emerges in the north . . .
Maniye, child of both Wolf and Tiger clans, has been named Champion of her people. But they're unsure if she's an asset - or a threat. To buy time, she joins Prince Tecuman's warband of outcasts and heads south, to help him gain his crown. She wants to discover her true place in the world, but instead heads into the jaws of a fierce new conflict.
Civil war threatens as Tecuman and his twin sister battle for the throne, for only one can rule. Yet whoever triumphs will carry a heavy burden, as a great doom has been foreseen that will fall across their whole world. And soon Maniye finds herself at the heart of a political storm.
Danger is also shadowing her old home, where Lord Thunder and his bear clan are attempting to unite the northern tribes. But only extreme peril will end age-old rivalries. An adversary from the most ancient of times is preparing to strike, putting their lands and their very souls in danger. And neither north nor south will be spared the terror to come.
PRAISE FOR THE BEAR AND THE SERPENT
"A clever, compelling page turner . . . a cracking sequel to The Tiger and the Wolf" Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews
"A beautifully fierce fantasy about our need to belong and the importance of our choices, this is a coming of age tale with bite" GeekSyndicate
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
February 14, 2017 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781760551858
- File size: 1482 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781760551858
- File size: 2802 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from July 17, 2017
This well-wrought second installment in Tchaikovsky’s Echoes of the Fall epic fantasy series (after The Tiger and the Wolf) focuses on two major threats to the realistically magical world his shape-shifting tribes inhabit. Loud Thunder, mightiest warrior of the Bear tribe, follows his dangerous destiny to rally the various quarreling tribes of the north into a united warband capable of battling the reawakening horror, the Plague People, who have destroyed the Seal tribe and are building a lethal foothold on the seashore. In the South, Maniye, a young Wolf-Tiger, and Asmander, champion of the Crocodile Sun River Nation, become enmeshed in
a potentially disastrous conflict between twin claimants to the throne, while the enigmatic Serpent priestess Hesprec constantly warns that something vile is approaching, so terrible that it may vanquish both sides. Tchaikovsky’s huge cast of brilliantly portrayed characters must learn to heed the wisdom the Serpent has brought from the Oldest Kingdom: that soulless refugees, playing on the pity of their hosts, pose the ultimate threat to the peoples’ souls and must be defeated, no matter the cost. (Whether this is intended as a parallel to current political topics in our world is unclear.) Tchaikovsky cannily leaves enough unfinished business to lure fantasy fans through many more emotional struggles and sweeping battles struggles to come.
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