- The Dark City, and: The Hidden Coronet, and: The Lost Heiress, and: The Margrave
In this epic story told in four installments (originally published in the UK 1998-2001), the citizens of the planet Anara are in trouble. The land itself is fighting back against long misuse; the Order (those connected to natural energies of the planet) has been hunted to near-annihilation; members of the severe, militaristic Watch abuse their power to crush the opposition; and the rest of the inhabitants just try to stay out of the way. Galen and Raffi, members of the Order, quest, in successive adventures, toward a city, an heiress, a relic, and a force of great malevolence, but always toward the same goals: to save the world by restoring the old reverence for the land and its creators, the Makers. They are joined by a former (perhaps) member of the Watch, Carys, who was indoctrinated as a young child and is now struggling to find her own way, and one of the Sekoi, a race of gold-obsessed, private, and deeply intelligent animals. These four protagonists provide the anchor [End Page 16] for this multi-volume set, and Fisher invests deeply in making each of the primary protagonists so complex that readers will still be learning about them right up to the final confrontations. There is no pure good or pure evil anywhere, and this is one of the stellar aspects of this series: one is forced to accept and invest in folks who are well-intentioned and intriguing but also frequently misinformed, unable to control their emotions, or simply confused about what the right thing to do might be. Anara itself, a gorgeous and tortured land, is carefully developed, and the mysteries of the relics, the Makers, and the way the various inhabitants evolved are unveiled through intricate maps as well as poetry and quotes that precede each chapter and through lush, elegant descriptions. Fantasy fans will be thrilled they won’t have to wait long for the each volume, though this just means the end will come all too soon.