Ashling »

Isobelle Carmody is the eldest of eight children and grew up telling stories to her brothers and sisters to control them while her mother worked. She began the first book in the award winning Obernewtyn Chronicles when she was 14, and still at high school. The series has gone on to win or be shortlisted for many awards and she won both the prestigious Book of the Year and the coveted Peace Prize for her novel The Gathering. She has also won numerous awards for her short stories, including the Marcus Clarke award for The Monster Game and the Aurealis award for the title story to her collection Green Monkey Dreams. In recent years she has ventured into picture book territory with her graphic novel Dreamwalker. She lives on the dramatic Great Oean Road in Australia with her daughter and partner, and spends every alternate year in Prague in Central Europe. She is currently working on the final book in the Obernewtyn Chronicles.

Reminiscent of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover novels, Obernewtyn introduced Isobelle Carmody as a writer to watch, and began a series of novels to entice and enthrall readers of all ages.

The Farseekers continued the saga of Obernewtyn and its band of Misfits, children outcast from society because of their psychic abilities, and the story of their heroic leader Elspeth Gordie, who alone carried the fate of the world on her shoulders.

Elspeth's adventures continue as she tries to seal an alliance between the secret Misfit community at Obernewtyn, and the rebel forces rumored to be hiding in the capital, right under the noses of the dreaded totalitarian Council.

Elspeth travels from the mountains reluctantly, for at any moment the long-awaited summons may come to find and destroy the dormant weaponmachines left by the Beforetimers. Her journey will take her far beyond the borders of the Land, across the sea and into the heart of the mysterious desert region of Sador. Here she discovers that she cannot destroy the weaponmachines alone—she needs the help of the Sadorians.

But before she can complete her dark quest, Elspeth must learn the truth of her dreams: She must understand why the Beforetimers destroyed their world . . .

Publishers Weekly

Australian author Carmody's third but inconclusive book of her well-received series (after Obernewtyn and The Farseekers) adds to the claims of destiny burdening narrator Elspeth. An ashling is a message or "dream that calls" in the mental language of the beasts, "beastspeaking" being one of the talents Elspeth possesses. Among her companions are Maruman, a large cat, and Gahltha, a horse. She and the animals, who are considered equals, belong to the Obernewtyn community of Misfits, a mountain retreat developed from an ancient experimental laboratory. Recognizing that their mental talents set them apart, the Misfits, unable to obtain a Certificate of Normalcy, must flee the established religious powers. (The division between the religious Council and the Herder Faction is not explained here, but assumed from a previous book, as is the guild structure of Obernewtyn.) Since natural resistance to mental manipulation is growing in the general population, the Misfits are limited in their ability to control events. Much of the story concerns the Misfits' attempts to meet and ally with secular rebel groups, who may tolerate the paranormal talents as little as the religious forces. Clues collect, and further quests involve the Beforetimers, whose technology culminated in the Great White nuclear holocaust that set the scene of this isolated land. The author's ideas are nothing new, and the irksomely idiosyncratic language slows the pace. First-time readers would be well advised to start with volume one. (Oct. 10) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.