The twisted citadel by Sara Douglas

cover image

Voyager, 2008.
(Age 15+) This is a quest fantasy in which the central protagonists Maximillian and Ishbel have to organise the people of their world to defeat the immediate threat of the Screalings (a swarm of monsters from the cold north) and an ancient evil from the south. To do this, our heroes have to regain their heritage of power in the twisted citadel. Unbeknown to them Ishbel and Maximillian have been groomed through painful childhood experiences by the devious snake and frog gods. Further complicating events is the fact that they love each other but events have parted them, leading to mistrust and misunderstandings on their reunion.

The Twisted Citadel is a great read for Sara Douglas fans as she brings back characters from the Axis books who escaped the destruction of Tencedor. The previously stand alone books that Douglas has tied in are Threshold which occurred 2000 years in the past and Under the Hanging Wall, which is in the recent past for the hero Maxim. The story refers to previous action but understanding is not dependant on having read earlier books. However to make sense of The twisted citadel reading The serpent bride is essential as most of the characters' actions are dependent on events in The serpent bride.

Whilst this is not as strong a book as The Serpent Bride, it carries the story along and I look forward to a rip roaring finale with our heroes saving the world. The size of the book and themes make this an adult read or an older teen read. I would recommend it for this audience.
Leanne Marjanovic

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