The Runes of Norien

Literary fantasy meets thriller in this, the first part of a trilogy about a magical world in imbalance, and a band of heroes' quest to save it from doom.Norien, the Ever-Shifting Sphere molded at the beginning of Creation, the protean matter out of which all worlds evolved, is in grave peril. The Three Runes, also known as the Eyes of the Gods, that had been ruling over the universe and keeping Norien’s three primeval realms in balance, have been stolen – though no one knows by whom, nor where they might be hidden. But in their sudden absence, the distant birthplace of the cosmos beings to spiral into chaos. Lurien, the Sphere of Untouch, is rendered mysteriously barren; Feerien, the Sphere of Toil, writhes in turmoil, as the twin dangers of an army of anthropophagic Scavengers and the advent of the dreaded Seventh Moon threaten its very existence; and Ienar Lin, the Mad Sphere, where all the knowledge of things past and future storm through in a never-ending flux, is beleaguered by dreams and visions of an imminent, colossal doom. Thus, a motley company gathered from Norien’s disquieted realms by chance or fate, take it upon themselves to retrieve the missing Runes – even if they are nowhere to be found, then this Nowhere must be found, be it at the other side of the black yawning vastness of existence. A dark, evocative narrative, The Runes of Norien is the first part in a trilogy of novels combining fantasy and horror with a literary, sinister playfulness.