Shadow Queen

An extraordinary strong narrative-voice immediately marked Shadow Queen out for attention when it was submitted as a Friday Pitch. Desperate to read beyond the first chapter, publisher Louise Thurtell contacted Deborah Kalin asking for the entire manuscript- asap.

With its remarkable writing and an unforgettable main character, the rest of the manuscript more than lived up to the promise of the first chapter- and it has just got stronger and stronger with each new edit.br>
Shadow Queen isn't just a great Australian fantasy novel but up there with the best international fantasy writing.

When powerful enemies threaten to destroy her kingdom, Shadow Queen Mathilde must pit herself against her family's conqueror to survive- will her vision of doom come true, or will she prevail?

Matilde of the House of Svanaten is tired of being shadow queen. Her accession to the Turasi throne is long overdue, yet her imperious grandmother, Beata, is reluctant to hand over power.

When Matilde's mysterious aunt, Helena, turns up for Turassi's most important festival, suspicious abound. Why has Helena- long married into the despised Ilthean nobility- suddenly appeared? And what of the Ilthean soldiers massed at the southern border?

Hard on Helena's arrival, Matilde is struck by a vision that warns of doom. And it isn't long before a powerful enemy strikes at the very heart of power, leaving a trail of death and destruction in his wake.

After narrowly surviving the conflagration that shatters her entire world, Matilde is forced to pit herself against her family's conqueror in a battle not just for the throne, but for her very existence.

Deborah Kalin

After graduating with a university medal in chemical engineering, Deborah Kalin worked briefly as an engineer before giving it all away to devote her energies to writing. She is 29 years old and lives in Newcastle. Shadow Queen is her first novel.

Shadow Queen
Allen and Unwin
Author: Deborah Kalin
ISBN: 978174156166
Price: $29.95