Shadow Dancers

Sabazel #3

by Lillian Stewart Carl

First print-published by Ace Books in 1988

What if an Amazon queen had a love affair with Alexander the Great?

What if their son had to defend his lands from the Mongol Horde?

What if his sister was the priestess of a bull-cult on Crete?

What if her son started the Trojan War--between India and Persia?

The Sabazel series, four alternate-history, gonzo-mythology epic fantasy Sabazel, The Winter King, Shadow Dancers, Wings of Power.

In a world rooted in Mediterranean history and mythology, armies clash, magicks compete, and the gods set their pawns onto the game board. The emperor Andrion thinks his empire is secure.

But no. He has no heir from an arranged marriage, and mysterious figures are turning his allies against him. When his wife is kidnapped, he must set aside his crown and travel to the island of Minras, where young men and women are sacrificed in the bull-dance. There Andrion and his companions, Tembujin of Khazyaristan and Dana of Sabazel, face a demon-possessed queen, his own precocious nephew, and two gods who are dueling to the death and destruction of all.

“Carl is an author to watch, for those who like their fantasy strongly seasoned with history.”—Roland Green

“...a world full of allusions to our own history...magical struggles with treachery as an important element...the main struggle could be called love vs. hate. These books are interesting works of fantasy...a fine series which shows a good historical background with an awareness of the importance of logistics. Whatever one thinks of Amazons as a concept, they are certainly well-done here. Even the villains are complex, well-fleshed out characters.”—Timothy Lane, Fosfax

“...fantasy that is woven intricately upon a weft of solid classical knowledge, yet is also colored by a creative imagination of great scope and power...the power and delicate precision of the best poetry...tantalizing glimpses of our own antique world, interestingly altered and yet
recognizable, give the story an extra dimension. Anyone who believes that fantasy must contain magic and elves has never read the work of Mary Renault...in Lillian Carl we have found another who can offer her readers an alternate reality that will live inside the mind long after the book has been finished.”—Ardath Mayhar, Thrust

Genres: Fantasy

Nook

First published November 1, 1987

About the author

Author bio:

Lillian Stewart Carl's work often features paranormal/fantasy themes and always features plots based on mythology, history, and archaeology. Most of her novels take place squarely in the twenty-first century, where the past lingers on into the present, especially in the British Isles, Lillian's home away from home.

She is the author of nineteen novels so far, including the Jean Fairbairn/Alasdair Cameron mystery series---America's exile and Scotland's finest on the trail of all-too-living legends.

Her newest novel is Fairbairn/Cameron number six, THE MORTSAFE.

Of her mystery, fantasy, and sf short stories, twelve are available in a collection titled ALONG THE RIM OF TIME, and thirteen, including three from "Best Of the Year" anthologies, are collected in THE MUSE AND OTHER STORIES OF HISTORY, MYSTERY, and MYTH.

All of Carl's work is available in electronic as well as paper form.

She has also co-edited (with John Helfers) a retrospective of Lois McMaster's Bujold's science fiction work, titled THE VORKOSIGAN COMPANION, which was nominated for a Hugo award.