The Tale of the Five

The Door Into Fire

“Good strong stuff with the right light touch.” (Terry Pratchett)

“Expands the limits of the swords and sorcery genre. Exciting, magical, intelligent.”
(Publishers Weekly)

Herewiss is the only man in centuries to possess the Power of the blue Flame, but he can’t use or control it — not even to help his friend and lover Freelorn, the exiled prince of Arlen. Herewiss does have a talent for more mundane sorcery, and (aided by the unearthly creature Sunspark) he uses it to rout the armies besieging Freelorn. But now Herewiss faces a devastating choice.

His time to master the blue Fire is running out. Should he join Freelorn in his fight to regain his kingdom? Or should he seek out the ancient keep in the Waste where doors lead into other worlds — perhaps even the door whose use will teach him to control the Power that he must master or die?…

The Door Into Fire, on the strength of which Diane Duane was twice nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in the SF/fantasy field, is the first volume in a series that has become a cult classic of fantasy for its unique take on sword and sorcery and its unforgettable characters.

Reader advisory: This novel contains adult / mature themes and situations set in a sexually diverse and inclusive culture.

The Tale of the Five

The Door Into Shadow

“To my way of reckoning, this is an even stronger book than the first… Absorbing, the kind of book one reads in gulps and cannot put down.” — Andre Norton

In the Middle Kingdoms, the royal magics are failing. The dread Reaver armies threaten the southern passes, and behind them moves the eternal malice of the Shadow, sworn to destroy all it can of the Goddess’s creation — especially the re-established realms of humankind.

One man stands between the Shadow and its prey: Freelorn Ferrant’s son, called the Lion’s Child, exiled prince of Arlen. His companions are a strange crew — from Sunspark, a fire elemental who’s trying hard to understand humankind without burning everyone to cinders in the process, to Eftgan, housewife, mother of three, and warrior Queen of Darthen.

And there are also the keepers of the blue Flame of Power: Herewiss, the first man in centuries to master the Fire, and wielder of the great sword Khávrinen, and Segnbora, a warrior and sorceress whose power is locked in her terrible past, and who speaks with the tongue of dragons.

Together they will face the nameless terrors of Glasscastle, where sorrow walks with madness. They will scale the awesome heights of the Bluepeaks in search of a kingdom’s salvation. And they will make the first moves in the apocalyptic war that will set the true king on the throne… or see their world destroyed.

Reader’s advisory: This work contains adult / mature situations set in a sexually diverse and inclusive culture.

The Tale of the Five

The Door Into Sunset

“The series as a whole seems destined to become one of the best in the genre.” (West Coast Review of Books)

“The culminating battle will disappoint nobody. Imaginative, well-handled magical affrays,
plus plotting that provides enough twists and turns to keep things interesting.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Duane has crafted an intelligent and exhilarating Swords and Sorcery adventure.” (Publishers Weekly)

In the third and climactic volume of the Tale of the Five, Freelorn, exiled prince of Arlen, heads home to battle for his lost throne at last… but the odds are stacked against him. His land has achieved an illusion of stability under the reign of his usurping half-brother Cillmod, and not everyone is convinced that Freelorn’s rule — even though he is the rightful heir and chosen successor to the half-divine White Lion of Arlen — would be that much of an improvement.

But some have no doubts at all, and will do whatever it takes to keep Freelorn from retaking his throne. One of these is the sorcerer Rian, Cillmod’s chief advisor, who has helped Cillmod twist to his use the royal magics that have preserved Arlen and its throne for centuries. And though Freelorn has the aid of Herewiss, first man in centuries to possess the dangerous Power of the blue Fire, and Eftgan, Queen of Arlen’s neighbor-country and immemorial ally Darthen, even their combined power may not be enough to break the deadly grip of the shadowy force manipulating Cillmod and Rian to Its own ends.

Freelorn and his friends and allies — human and otherwise — must now put their lives on the line in a final campaign in which he and they discover they have become tools in the hands of the Goddess against Her most terrible and ancient enemy. And for Freelorn, the final sacrifice to save his land from the triumph of an age-old evil will confront him with a choice more terrible than anything he could have imagined: death with those he loves… or immortality without them.

Reader advisory: This novel contains adult / mature themes and situations set in a sexually diverse and inclusive culture.

News and updates The Tale of the Five

The Tale of the Five

The Door Into Fire

“Good strong stuff with the right light touch.” (Terry Pratchett)

“Expands the limits of the swords and sorcery genre. Exciting, magical, intelligent.” (Publishers Weekly)

The Door Into Shadow

“To my way of reckoning, this is an even stronger book than the first… Absorbing, the kind of book one reads in gulps and cannot put down.” — Andre Norton

The Door Into Sunset

Other works

The Door Into Starlight

This is the project status post for The Door Into Starlight, the fourth and final novel in the main Middle Kingdoms character continuity.

“Expands the limits of the swords and sorcery genre. Exciting, magical, intelligent.”
(Publishers Weekly)