Dust and Light

Read Dust and Light Online

Authors: Carol Berg

BOOK: Dust and Light
7.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

PRAISE
FOR
CAROL
BERG
AND
HER
NOVELS

“Carol Berg is an absolutely gorgeous writer. . . . She does incredible, intricate world building that moves along like a deep, powerful river: It looks, on the surface, as though it’s carrying along at a reasonable rate, with occasional dips and swirls into eddies, but beneath that is an absolutely tremendous current pulling you along toward inexorable rapids, and you barely know it’s happened until you’re already over your head. And then, just in case that’s not enough, she does exactly the same thing with the character development, resulting in works of stunning scope that are also enormously internal journeys of discovery for not just the characters, but the reader.”

—C. E. Murphy, author of the Walker Papers series

“Among my favorite fantasies EVER! Carol Berg develops her characters, story, and world with a well-rounded brilliance seldom seen in fantasy, and a beauty that leaves a reader breathless.”

—Janny Wurts, author of the
Wars of Light
and
Shadow
series (on
Flesh and Spirit
and
Breath and Bone
)

“Carol Berg’s writing is some of the most lyrical and flowing I have run across. Her books all have some innate grace that serves as a marker against which I measure almost every other book I read. Berg’s books aren’t just books; they are art, and she’s a master of the wordsmithing craft. Her writing style gives all of her books a dreamlike quality that I love. Her stories are more real than real, and her characters are so vibrant, you live those moments as you read, and you learn so much about yourself as you do it.”

—Bookworm Blues

Dust and Light


Carol Berg has spun a tale of magic and politics, of intrigue and betrayal. Set in a rich world, told through the eyes of a compelling and sympathetic hero, her story twists and turns, building to a conclusion that satisfies while hinting at more adventures to come. I eagerly await the next Sanctuary novel.

—D. B. Jackson, author of the Thieftaker Chronicles

Breath and Bone

“The narrative crackles with intensity against a vivid backdrop of real depth and conviction, with characters to match. Altogether superior.”

—Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)

“Berg’s lush, evocative storytelling and fully developed characters add up to a first-rate purchase for most fantasy collections.”


Library Journal

“Replete with magic-powered machinations, secret societies, and doomsday divinations, the emotionally intense second volume of Berg’s intrigue-laden Lighthouse Duet concludes the story of Valen. . . . Fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Avalon sequence and Sharon Shinn will be rewarded.”


Publishers Weekly

“Berg combines druid and Christian influences against a backdrop of sorcerers, priestesses, priests, deep evil, and a dying land to create an engrossing tale to get lost in . . . enjoyable.”

—Monsters and Critics

“An excellent read . . . a satisfying sequel.”

—Fresh Fiction

Flesh and Spirit

“In Carol Berg’s engrossing
Flesh and Spirit
, an engaging rogue stumbles upon the dangerous crossroads of religion, politics, war, and destiny. Berg perfectly portrays the people who shape his increasingly more chaotic journey: cheerful monks, cruel siblings, ambitious warlords, and a whole cast of fanatics. But it’s the vividly rendered details that give this book such power. Berg brings to life every stone in a peaceful monastery and every nuance in a stratified society, describing the difficult dirty work of ordinary life as beautifully as she conveys the heart-stopping mysticism of holiness just beyond human perception.”

—Sharon Shinn, national bestselling author of
Royal Airs

“Carol Berg has done a masterful job of creating characters, places, religions, and political trials that grab and hold your attention. . . . Don’t miss one of 2007’s best fantasy books!”

—Romance Reviews Today

“It’s challenging to create a main character who’s not exactly a good guy and yet still elicits reader sympathy. Carol Berg’s newest novel,
Flesh and Spirit
, features a man who has committed quite a few misdeeds and yet remains likable. . . . Berg also excels at creating worlds. . . . It’s like we’re exploring this world alongside its characters, and this technique works remarkably well. . . . I’m eagerly awaiting the duology’s concluding volume,
Breath and Bone
. This first installment is an engrossing and lively tale with enough action to keep you hungry for more.”


The Davis Enterprise

The Daemon Prism

“[Berg’s] insight into the nature of human good and evil, the constantly ebbing and flowing relationships among lovers and friends . . . consistently raises this novel above sword-and-sorcery routine.”


Publishers Weekly

“An amazingly complex and rewarding story.
The Daemon Prism
is certain to reward the devoted students of the Collegia Magica trilogy.”


Booklist

“One of the best fantasies I have encountered in years. . . . Berg takes chances with her characters . . . that leave them imprinted indelibly in your memory and heart . . . wonderful.”

—Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys

“Enthralling and not to be missed.”


Kirkus Reviews

“Filled with action and feeling, as if it occurs in a Berg version of the Age of Reason; fans will appreciate this stupendous story.”

—Alternative Worlds

BOOKS BY CAROL BERG

T
HE
C
OLLEGIA
M
AGICA
S
ERIES

The Spirit Lens

The Soul Mirror

The Daemon Prism

T
HE
L
IGHTHOUSE
S
ERIES

Flesh and Spirit

Breath and Bone

T
HE
B
RIDGE
OF
D’A
RNATH
S
ERIES

Son of Avonar

Guardians of the Keep

The Soul Weaver

Daughter of Ancients

 

Song of the Beast

T
HE
R
AI
-K
IRAH
S
ERIES

Transformation

Revelation

Restoration

ROC

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014

USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China

penguin.com

A Penguin Random House Company

First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) LLC

Copyright © Carol Berg, 2014

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:

Berg, Carol.

Dust and light: a sanctuary novel/Carol Berg.

p. cm.—(A sanctuary novel; 1)

ISBN 978-1-101-60309-3

1. Magic—Fiction. 2. Sorcery—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3602.E7523D88 2014

813'.6—dc23 2014004222

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.

Version_1

Contents

Praise

Books by CAROL BERG

Title page

Copyright page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Epigraph

 

PART I: THE BLADES OF WINTER

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

 

PART II: THE KILLING SEASON

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

 

PART III: THE WAKING STORM

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

 

PART IV: HARSH MAGIC

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 33

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 35

CHAPTER 36

CHAPTER 37

CHAPTER 38

CHAPTER 39

F
OR
ARTISTS
AND
HISTORIANS
,
AND
ALL
WHO
SHOW
US
TRUTH

Other books

A Dolphin's Gift by Watters, Patricia
War Baby by Lizzie Lane
Down from the Mountain by Elizabeth Fixmer
Now and Forever--Let's Make Love by Joan Elizabeth Lloyd
Quota by Jock Serong
The King of Ragtime by Larry Karp
Crossing the Bridge by Michael Baron