"Dennis L. McKiernan - Iron Tower1 - The Dark Tide" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKiernan Dennis L)

The Dark Tide
Book One of the Iron Tower Trilogy
Dennis L. McKiernan
Contents
Foreword
Journal Notes
1 The Well-Attended Parting
2 Retreat to Rooks' Roost
3 Spindle Ford
4 Challerain Keep
5 The Dark Tide
6 The Long Pursuit


FOREWORD
^┬╗
Do you ever yearn for a particular kind of story and simply can't come by it?
Perchance you read one once, and keep looking for another like it, but it just isn't to
be found. And so, every now and again, it may be that you reread the only one you
have and keep wishing forтАж more.
For me, there are many stories or series of tales like that, written by fine authors:
Joy Chant, Ursula LeGuin, J. R. R. Tolkien, Patricia McKillip, Katherine Kurtz, to
name a few of my favorites. And when a new work of theirs shows up on the
shelves, I can't wait to get my hands on it to devour it in its entirety. Unfortunately,
some of my favorite writersтАФsuch as TolkienтАФhave sailed upon the Darkling Sea,
and no more will new gramaryes with those particular spellbinders' special
enchantments come our way.
Yet, the type of tale that captures my heart and soul is hard to come byтАФnot as
rare as unicorns, perhaps, but still uncommon. And it's a long sigh between. My
unoccupied hands keep straying among the special books on my shelf, fumbling for
one that perhaps, by some miracle, I've overlooked. And I haunt the book stores,
seeking new tales, or sequels, or prequels. Yet they seldom come, and I am often
disappointed.
For years I have followed that patternтАФand still doтАФquesting for the works of
others. But those quests only occasionally bear the rare, sweet fruit.
In 1981 I thought to try my hand at this alchemy, to tell a tale of my own
choosing, and this is it. Oh, I don't believe I've matched the magnificent prose of the
others, my favorites, for their glamours are their own and unique; yet I have told the
tale I set out to tell, and perhaps the spell I cast will bind you.
Make no mistake, this book is written for those who love the Realms of Chant,
the Deryni of Kurtz, McKillip's Riddles, Middle-earth of Tolkien, LeGuin's Earthsea,
and the kingdoms, peoples, and special wizardry of the many others whom I've not
mentioned but whose spells exist nonetheless. And if you don't like their magical
worlds, chances are you won't like The Iron Tower eitherтАФbut then again, I could
be wrong. On the other hand, if you enjoy a high Quest and the Wizards, Harpers,
Dragons, Hobbits, Riddlemasters, Enchantresses, and all the rest that goes with it,
then odds are you'll find you like the story of Tuck and Danner and Patrel and
Merrilee, the Warrows of this tale.
I hope you enjoy it.
Dennis L. McKiernan Westerville, OhioтАФ1983