Flesh and Fire: Book One of the Vineart War (Vineart War, 1)

Product Description Once, all power in the Vin Lands was held by the prince-mages, who alone could craft spellwines and who selfishly used them to increase their own wealth and influence. But their abuse of power caused a demigod to break the Vine, shattering the power of the mages. Now, fourteen centuries later, it is the humble Vinearts who hold the secret of crafting spells from wines, the source of magic, and they are prohibited from holding power. But now rumors come of a new darkness rising in the vineyards. Strange, terrifying creatures, sudden plagues, and mysterious disappearances threaten the land. Only one Vineart senses the danger, and he has only one weapon to use against it: a young slave. His name is Jerzy, and his origins are unknown, even to him. Yet his uncanny sense of the Vinearts' craft offers a hint of greater magics within-magics that his Master, the Vineart Malech, must cultivate and grow. But time is running out. If Malech cannot teach his new apprentice the secrets of the spellwines, and if Jerzy cannot master his own untapped powers, the Vin Lands shall surely be destroyed. In Flesh and Fire, the first entry in a spellbinding new trilogy, Laura Anne Gilman conjures a story as powerful as magic itself, as intoxicating as the finest of wines, and as timeless as the greatest legends ever told. Review "This launch of a new trilogy...achieves an extraordinary power from its elegant storytelling and unique magical philosophy.... Highly recommended." ---Library Journal Starred Review About the Author Laura Anne Gilman is the author of the Cosa Nostradamus books (the Retrievers series and the Paranormal Scene Investigations series), the young adult trilogy Grail Quest, and two Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels.Anne Flosnik is an accomplished, multi-award-winning British actress, with lead credits for stage, television, commercials, industrials, voice-overs, and audiobooks. She has garnered three AudioFile Earphones Awards, including for Little Bee by Chris Cleave, and four Audie Award nominations. From AudioFile The Vinearts control the unique magic that transforms the juice of grapes into wines that serve various purposes. Jerzy, a slave, is promoted to apprentice when he shows an affinity for the magic. And when problems arise in the vineyards that suggest sabotage, his master sends him undercover to seek answers. There's little drama through much of this book, which is clearly laying the foundation for a new series. But Anne Flosnik approaches the entire story with an almost-breathless anticipation. Both her tone and her exaggeratedly clear enunciation add up to a narration that sounds overdone. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine