• Watergivers
  • The Last Stormlord
  • Stormlord Rising
  • Stormlord's Exile
• The Mirage Makers
  • Heart of the Mirage
  • The Shadow of Tyr
  • Song of the Shiver Barrens
• The Isles of Glory
  • The Aware
  • Gilfeather
  • The Tainted
• Havenstar
  • Synopsis
  • Reviews
  • Other editions

The publisher sank shortly after the book's release, making it something of a collector's item…"

Jason Nahrung, in the Brisbane Courier Mail, May 2004

Havenstar was published under my married name (Glenda Noramly) by Virgin Worlds in 1999. It had a slow start but gradually took off until it was fairly flying! In January 2000 it was on the 100 bestselling books (all books, including non-fiction) of Amazon.co.uk. It reached 81—and then overnight became totally unavailable. Virgin Worlds had, alas, gone belly up…

A surf of the internet now sometimes turns up a secondhand copy or two at horrendous prices.

Synopsis

The Eight Stabilities are islands of order surrounded by lethal chaos—and the order is being swallowed by the unstable. The religious leaders of Chantry try to maintain the Stabilities by ordering the necessity of a once in a lifetime pilgrimage across the chaos. And in that ever-changing world, the most important person is a mapmaker who can make a chart of secure pilgrimage routes…

Keris Kaylen is a mapmaker's daughter. When her father is murdered and a mountain disappears, Keris is betrayed by her brother. Forced to flee into the Unstable, she finds her safety is in the hands of a man bonded to the Lord Carasma, the Unmaker…and her ordered life is turned upside-down. Her survival will depend on a map and a place called Havenstar—but she can't reproduce the map, and Havenstar may not even exist…

Reviews

Havenstar is an original, engrossing page-turner of a fantasy. You want strnge and powerful magic, world changing heroism, and courage in unlikely places—it's here. Noramly's protagonists are likeable and conflicted (always an engaging combination) and have an agreeably (for the reader that is) tough time before they can reach their happy ending. Noramly doesn't flinch from portraying the risks involved in following your dreams, but she also warmly emphasizes the rewards. Terrific stuff—this author is one to watch. Starburst rating: 10/10

Barbara Davies in STARBURST #248 April 1999 (UK), Vol 21, No.10

This is an exciting, fast-moving page-turner that draws you in from page one and holds your attention until the final full-stop. Noramly has created a cast of characters that you genuinely care about and a world that has scope for a lot more novels. Not only are we taken on a bloody, sweaty journey across the Unstable, but we are drawn into an unlikely love story that appears doomed from the start… If you are looking for something new and a bit different, you could do a lot worse than this, one of the best books I have read this year.

Alex Wormall in THE ALIEN HAS LANDED (Online) Quarterly Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Review January 2000

An outstanding example of good fantasy…
What sets this book apart from so many others is the smooth flow and development of the plot, the richness of the characters and the believability of the twists as the plot unfolds.

John R.Clark in BOOTHBAY REGISTER (Maine USA), Vol 123, No. 69, November 1999.

Other editions

Copyright © 2008-2009 Glenda Larke