Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
When Chessa is kidnapped by Ragnor of York, Cleve sets out to rescue her. After all, he's the one who negotiated her marriage to William of Normandy, and his word is one the line. When a storm blows Chessa and her Kidnappers onto Hawkfell Island, outrageous complications set in.
In the third novel of this Viking trilogy, Cleve of Lord of Raven's Peak and Chessa of Lord of Hawkfell Island first meet when Chessa is the princess of Ireland. Cleve has no memory of the time before he was a slave. When vivid dreams kindle memories of his native Scotland, Cleve's goal becomes to return to Loch Ness to claim his inheritance.
But first, there is Chessa to be rescued and handed over to her rightful groom. When Cleve arrives at Hawkfell Island, he learns that Chessa not only refuses to marry Ragnor of York, she won't consider William of Normandy either. She wants to marry him Her strategies to bring this about anticipate Machiavelli by 600 years.
Chessa and Cleve may be bullheaded, but they're no match for Ragnor of York, who will have you laughing at his abominable antics. One thing about Ragnor, he never knows when to say when.
All the characters from the first two Viking novels are back, all five years older now--but not necessarily wiser--and ready to stick their oars into Cleve's and Chessa's problems. And you'll have these questions answered: Is Cleve's father really a master sorcerer? Is there truly a Loch Ness monster?
About the Author
Amy Gerstler is a writer of fiction, poetry, and journalism whose work has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including the Paris Review and Best American Poetry. Her 1990 book Bitter Angel won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Previous titles from Penguin are Crown of Weeds, 1997, and Nerve Storm, 1993.
Table of Contents
Crown of Weeds Recipe for Resurrection
To a Newborn
Circus Girl
Travel Diary
Recipe for Trouble
Asylum
Ash Wednesday
Bedlam
April
A Measured Joy
Request
Montage of Disasters
Song
Mixed Messages
My Hero
A Love Story
A Fan Letter
Four Meditations on an Ice Puddle
On the Road
Blown Out
The Superior Man
Psychotown
Her Account of Herself
Introducing: The Clouds
Sworn Statement
Dog World
Jews
Group Portrait, with Pitchforks
Chain of Events
Crown of Weeds
The Wanderer
Nowadays
Cul-de-sac
Commentary
The Underworld
Dry-eyed Survivor
She Senses the Presence of a Dead Suitor in Her Room
Blur
To My Brother
Miasma
Colorlessness