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Chronicles of Tornor #1-3
The Chronicles of Tornor Trilogy: Watchtower, The Dancers of Arun, and The Northern Girl
From a two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award, this epic trilogy is a “marvelous blend of fantasy [and] realism” (Marion Zimmer Bradley).
Tornor is a land of warriors and lovers, a diverse place where devotion knows few bounds and honor stands strong in the face of adversity. Spread across generations, these three novels feature a trio of courageous heroes as they come of age in a magical world.
In the World Fantasy Award–winning Watchtower, Tornor Keep is the legendary tower that protects the winter end of a summer land. But when Tornor is overrun by raiders, Prince Errel and the tenacious warrior Ryke must fight the usurpers to save their home.
In The Dancers of Arun, a student must learn to control his gifts. As the scholar and scribe of Tornor, Kerris has been in training for the past seventeen years. But it’s not until his brother Kel—of the Cheari culture—teaches him the psychic art of patterning that the city of Elath comes under attack and Kerris must draw on his new talents to fight the dangers of psychic warfare.
In the epic conclusion to this fantasy saga, The Northern Girl, a young servant must find her inner strength as she hides a magical talent. The visions begin when Sorren is only thirteen years old and she’s marked as a member of the White Clan of Arun. But this honor of being a witch frightens Sorren and she does not want to come within the Tanjo and serve. Instead, she’s determined to keep this gift a secret for as long as she can—whatever the cost may be.
Elizabeth A. Lynn’s groundbreaking series was one of the first to feature same-sex relationships as an accepted part of a fantasy world. Filled with provocative ideas, haunting prose, and boundless imagination, the trilogy will captivate fantasy lovers both new and old.
Tornor is a land of warriors and lovers, a diverse place where devotion knows few bounds and honor stands strong in the face of adversity. Spread across generations, these three novels feature a trio of courageous heroes as they come of age in a magical world.
In the World Fantasy Award–winning Watchtower, Tornor Keep is the legendary tower that protects the winter end of a summer land. But when Tornor is overrun by raiders, Prince Errel and the tenacious warrior Ryke must fight the usurpers to save their home.
In The Dancers of Arun, a student must learn to control his gifts. As the scholar and scribe of Tornor, Kerris has been in training for the past seventeen years. But it’s not until his brother Kel—of the Cheari culture—teaches him the psychic art of patterning that the city of Elath comes under attack and Kerris must draw on his new talents to fight the dangers of psychic warfare.
In the epic conclusion to this fantasy saga, The Northern Girl, a young servant must find her inner strength as she hides a magical talent. The visions begin when Sorren is only thirteen years old and she’s marked as a member of the White Clan of Arun. But this honor of being a witch frightens Sorren and she does not want to come within the Tanjo and serve. Instead, she’s determined to keep this gift a secret for as long as she can—whatever the cost may be.
Elizabeth A. Lynn’s groundbreaking series was one of the first to feature same-sex relationships as an accepted part of a fantasy world. Filled with provocative ideas, haunting prose, and boundless imagination, the trilogy will captivate fantasy lovers both new and old.
- GenresFantasy
1568 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2017
25 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth A. Lynn
53 books95 followersElizabeth A. Lynn is a US writer most known for fantasy and to a lesser extent science fiction. She is particularly known for being one of the first writers in science fiction or fantasy to introduce gay and lesbian characters; in honor of Lynn, the LGBT bookstore "A Different Light" took its name from her novel.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 22, 2020
Really outstanding and original and well written. Artistic. Original fantasy with an innovative style.
June 14, 2025
Today this would be firmly in the category of YA, but to me it feels much richer than what is marketed that way today. The worldbuilding is very strong, giving the sense of a real world full of people going about their own lives, even though we're only focusing on a few of them. The trilogy spans a few hundred years, all connecting back to the original setting, and almost incidentally chronicling how places and cultures change over time. Each story is centered on a young person discovering themselves. Sexual relationships are important in the second and third books, but not the whole point of either story, and the wide variety of relationship pairings and structures that must have been groundbreaking when this was written are still refreshing. The three stories are quite different, but all come back to the importance of chosen family and being free to find your place in the world. The prose is spare and grounds the more fantastical elements in well-built characters and careful details of the world they move through. I hadn't re-read this in at least twenty years and am pleased to have remembered and rediscovered it.
May 29, 2023
Series books I found in my Teen years, First books I found to ever talk about polyamory and bisexuality, and loving the same gender. Back in the 80's this was very scary to be different. I'm sure there are still places that it is scary but now I'm over 50 and life is safer for the different- with social media. Anyway the review.
Watchtower : is full of action in a time of war, self discovery and change.
The Dancers of Arun : this one is an adventure in another time of change and self discovery- lots more lovable characters and my favorite of the three.
The Northern Girl is an ending in many ways but nothing like the other two books, the longest book and in part very boring to read, but the last 3rd of the book is worth reading, I enjoyed the main character and enjoyed the book once I finished.
I have reread this series so many times ... over the last 40 years its a bit embarrassing
Watchtower : is full of action in a time of war, self discovery and change.
The Dancers of Arun : this one is an adventure in another time of change and self discovery- lots more lovable characters and my favorite of the three.
The Northern Girl is an ending in many ways but nothing like the other two books, the longest book and in part very boring to read, but the last 3rd of the book is worth reading, I enjoyed the main character and enjoyed the book once I finished.
I have reread this series so many times ... over the last 40 years its a bit embarrassing
April 10, 2022
So glad to see these!
When these books first came out I had all 3 in paperback and I read them SO many times they fell apart.
When I got an ad from Amazon showing them in one trilogy book I jumped at the chance to own and read them again.
They are every bit as enjoyable now as they were back in the late 70s. There's romance, intrigue, magic and adventure. It's a great world to escape to for a while, well written with characters with feelings you can relate to.
When these books first came out I had all 3 in paperback and I read them SO many times they fell apart.
When I got an ad from Amazon showing them in one trilogy book I jumped at the chance to own and read them again.
They are every bit as enjoyable now as they were back in the late 70s. There's romance, intrigue, magic and adventure. It's a great world to escape to for a while, well written with characters with feelings you can relate to.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews