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Keeper of the Keys (The Cycle of Fire) Kindle Edition

by Janny Wurts (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 46 ratings

Book 2 of 3: The Cycle of Fire

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Second in the SF/fantasy trilogy by the author of Stormwarden: “Reminiscent of Andre Norton’s Witch World . . . Wurts writes with creativity and passion.” —Fantasy Literature

With Kiethland restored to precarious peace, Taen Dreamweaver and Jaric, the sole heir to Ivain Firelord, have thwarted the demons’ initial bid to exterminate humanity. But the threat remains in the precarious charge of the Stormfalcon’s feather and the Keys to Elrinfaer that imprison the ravenous Mharg. Both must be restored to Anskiere, still trapped in his prison of ice. His release will depend upon Jaric’s mastery of the Cycle of Fire, the sorcerous challenge that drove his father to madness.

Both Taen and Jaric must prevail against Taen’s brother, Emien, fallen to demons and overridden by alien desires that ravage his spirit. With Emien the perfect pawn shaped for Kiethland’s downfall, his overlords feed his insatiable hatred with power for one purpose only: to hunt down and slay the Firelord’s heir and the sister whose gentler talent defends him.

Praise for Janny Wurts

“With each new book it becomes more and more obvious how important Janny Wurts is to contemporary fantasy.” —Guy Gavriel Kay

“A gifted creator of wonders.” —Raymond E. Feist

“Janny Wurts brings an artist’s eye for detail and mood to the field of fantasy writing.” —Robert Lynn Asprin

“A great natural storyteller.” —L. Sprague de Camp

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

'A great natural storyteller' - L. Sprague De Camp

'A gifted creator of wonder' - Raymond E Feist

About the Author

Janny Wurts is the author of several successful fantasy novels including the Cycle of Fire trilogy (Stormwarden, The Keeper of the Keys and Shadowfane). In collaboration with Raymond E. Feist she has also written the bestselling Empire series (Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of the Empire). Her most recent project is the first two volumes in her magnificent new series, The Wars of Light and Shadows (The Curse of the Mistwraith and The Ships of Merior). She is also a talented illustrator and lives with her husband in Florida.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08S6V4DV5
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (March 9, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 9, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4585 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 373 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #661,786 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #8,131 in Science Fiction Adventure
- #9,090 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy eBooks
- #9,732 in Epic Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 46 ratings

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Janny Wurts

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Janny Wurts is the author of eighteen books, twenty nine short stories, and the internationally best selling Empire trilogy written in collaboration with Raymond E. Feist. Her recent novel, To Ride Hell's Chasm, is a stand alone fantasy, with the newest in her ongoing Wars of Light and Shadows series, Initiate’s Trial, just released.

Through her combined talents as a writer/illustrator, Janny endeavors to create a seamless interface between words and pictures. The book cover images, both in the US and in most translations abroad, are her own paintings reflecting her vision of characters and setting.

Her research includes direct outdoor experience, at times lending her sailing, riding and wilderness scenes somewhat hair raising facets of realism. A self–taught painter, she draws directly from imagination in a representational style evolved from pencil drawings to oil paint.

Says Janny of her work, "I chose to frame my storytelling against a backdrop of fantasy because I can handle even the most sensitive issues with the gloves off.”

Beyond writing, Janny's award winning paintings have been showcased in exhibitions of imaginative artwork, among them a commemorative exhibition for NASA's 25th Anniversary; the Art of the Cosmos at Hayden Planetarium in New York; and two exhibits of fantasy art at the Canton Art Museum. The Delaware Art Museum has one of her paintings from its collection on display in the current illustration exhibit.

She lives in Florida in a state of creative havoc with a husband, two Bengal cats, three horses, and a back yard likely to be visited by wildlife, bagpipers, and sword bearing reenactors for period black powder demonstrations.

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4.3 out of 5

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Gail W. Adams

foe Andre Norton fans

Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2021

Verified Purchase

Anyone who enjoyed Andre Norton’s Witch World Series will enjoy this. The author successfully creates a real world, ifllwd with contradictions.

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2010

In this second episode of The Cycle of Fire, Ivainson Jaric witnesses some crucial history: how his father the Firelord and Anskiere the Stormwarden, both Vaere-trained sorcerers, bound the demons at Elrinfaer; how his father went mad and betrayed Anskiere; and how, though the demons were eventually bound, the land was destroyed in the process. Jaric also receives forewarnings, in the form of visions, of what the future will hold if he does not master his powers to help Taen and Anskiere subdue the rising demonkind who have now recruited Emien, Taen's brother, as one of their leaders.

Keeper of the Keys is a "middle book," so much of the plot involves Jaric's gradually increasing realization and conviction that he can no longer deny the world the talents he was given as Firelord's heir, even though he risks the madness that his father suffered. Though there are many exciting episodes in Keeper of the Keys, they mainly serve to get Jaric ready to prepare himself for the future.

Janny Wurts' story is creative and I especially like the fantasy/science fiction mix which is reminiscent of Andre Norton's Witchworld. Wurts' characters are likable and the transitions they go through, especially Jaric's, are realistic (though I was really ready for Jaric to man up by the end of this book). I especially like a couple of the gruffer characters: The Kielmark (Lord of Cliffhaven and King of Pirates) and his captain Corley. Wurts is particularly good with these types of characters and they are a nice counterpoint to Jaric's occasional whininess.

I listened to Keeper of the Keys on audio (Audible Frontiers) with narrator David Thorpe. Thorpe's enthusiastic voice is charming and I read on Ms. Wurts' forum that he has all of the names and places pronounced correctly. I have one complaint, though -- something I mentioned in my review of Stormwarden and which I've now realized may be specific to the audio version: Though the dialogue is quite nice and the scenery and action are clearly described, I find that, for me at least, the occasional wordiness and frequent use of participial phrases at the beginning of sentences reduces the vividness of my mental imagery and interrupts the plot's tension. This occurs in sentences constructed this way:

* Rooted in total acceptance of the powers which had torn her from youth, her poise was an embarrassment.
* Inured to the pain of stressed tendons, he wrenched his body upwards and hooked his forearm over the edge.
* Cued by a shift in his master's stance, Corley slipped his whetstone in his pocket.

When read out loud, especially with Mr. Thorpe's enthusiastic voice, passages with several of these types of sentences occasionally feel choppy and the action sometimes feels sluggish. Interestingly, when I checked the print version, this was not so much of an issue -- maybe because I read faster than the audiobook reader narrates, or because I process the entire participial phrase at once instead of with the same pause and inflection that Thorpe gives each one. When I'm listening to the audiobook I also notice that Ms. Wurts has a preference for polysyllabic words, but I didn't notice this in the print version -- probably because I don't "hear" the separate syllables when reading. Because I'm a Strunk & White kind of girl, the conspicuousness of the style affected my enjoyment of the audio version, but it's only likely to bother weird people like me. (Weird people such as me, I mean.) I should also mention that The Cycle of Fire is Janny Wurts' first epic and that I prefer her later style.

But I'm looking forward to Shadowfane, the last novel in The Cycle of Fire. I don't doubt that Jaric and Taen will save the world, but it will be fun to see how they triumph, to find out what happens to Emien and Anskiere, and to learn more about the history of the Vaere and the Corinne Dane. Janny Wurts writes with creativity and passion, so I'm expecting an exciting finale!

2 people found this helpful

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Sandra C. Scott

Talented author, great writing

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2013

Verified Purchase

Cycle of fire is a great fast read trilogy.Depth, color , imaginitivy, profound. Janny Wurts succeeds again. Read it, see for yourself.

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floss

o yes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2012

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as with the books this one is up there with all of them ,great read when you start you cant stop

skyrad

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2016

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very intriguing tale

AVATAR

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2014

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The book didn't grip me the way the first book did. I found I was able to put the book down frequently
whereas the first book I almost read at a sitting. The flow of the story seems rather disjointed. Still Janny Wurts
whose books I love, but this felt like it was being stretched a little too far at times.

Jules

Not as described!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

Before I begin, let me assure any readers that the story itself is fantastic - Janny Wurts is up there with the best of them and I would thoroughly recommend this as a "Can't put down" read.

The book itself, however, is another story and although I bought it used, ( I had no choice as there are currently no new ones available) it was listed as "Very Good" condition - but is nothing like as described - I'm going to throw it away once I've finished reading it.

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Keeper of the Keys (The Cycle of Fire) Kindle Edition

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