The powerful fantasy novel Child of the Prophecy successfully concludes Juliet Marillier's Sevenwaters Trilogy, which chronicles a fated family's three-generation struggle to preserve the failing magic of ancient Ireland.

The daughter of a forbidden romance, Fianne has been raised in isolation and trained in magic by her loving but remote druid-father, Ciaran, and her ruthless sorceress-grandmother, the Lady Oonagh. They send Fianne to Sweetwaters to live among relatives who had no knowledge of her existence and who may have instigated the death of her mother, their sister Niamh. Fianne has come to carry out her grandmother's long-planned vengeance on the clan--and on the Old Ones, who are the source of Ireland's mystic power. Despite her mother's death, Fianne is reluctant to harm her Sweetwaters kin. But if she lets them live, the Lady Oonagh will kill both her father and Darragh, the handsome young horse tamer who has captured Fianne's heart.

Child of the Prophecy works as a standalone novel, but readers will benefit by first reading its equally accomplished prequels, Daughter of the Forest and Son of the Shadows. --Cynthia Ward


From Publishers Weekly
In the final book in her Sevenwaters Trilogy, Australian Marillier gathers the threads from the first two (Daughter of the Forest and Son of the Shadows) and weaves them together into a rich tapestry of love and loss, family loyalty and personal sacrifice. The saga of the guardians of the forest at Sevenwaters takes up the story of Fainne, daughter of the former Druid Ciaran and the lost Niamh. Raised in the ways of magic, Fainne plans to become a solitary sorcerer like her father, but fate intervenes in the form of her grandmother, Oonagh, a sorceress with a penchant for cruelty and a desire to put an end to everything the Sevenwaters folks stand for. A prophecy tells of a way to preserve the old magic, and Lady Oonagh is willing to trick her granddaughter and torture her own son to break it. Though Fainne is forced to bow to her grandmother's will, the love of her family and her own strong ethics help her remember her true nature, as she learns about herself, her powers of sorcery and the part she plays in a prophecy that has tested three generations of women. Though the romance elements that dominated The Son of the Shadows occasionally appear, this book centers on personal growth and filial duty; it can be enjoyed as a read-alone book, but is better understood with the preceding titles. Marillier's strong voice and rolling, lucid prose seem appropriate for a 10th-century Irish tale, and her command of a fantasy story's elements make this an excellent conclusion to a fine trilogy. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
As the daughter of Niamh of the Sevenwaters Clan, Fainne possesses a magic born of the land itself. Instructed by her grandmother, the sorceress Oonagh, Fainne believes she has a destiny to bring about a terrible change in the world. This conclusion to Marillier's historical fantasy, set in an Ireland known only through legends, features a young woman poised between prophecies, destined to decide the fate of her people and the magic entrusted to them. The author captures the feel of myth in this Celtic-laced saga that belongs in most fantasy collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
To conclude the Sevenwaters trilogy, Fainne, the gifted daughter of the truant Niamh and Niamh's druid cousin, comes to Sevenwaters to claim her heritage. Doing so, she places herself squarely between her evil fairy grandmother, who claims to be torturing Fainne's father every time Fainne fails to follow orders, and her growing love for her kin. Add to this Fainne's passionate but thwarted love for a traveling lad and the ending of a centuries-old blood feud with the Britons, and you have a rousing page-turner, a heady blending of romance, magic, and battle. Marillier created the world of Sevenwaters by weaving together various Irish myths to fashion a magical realm peopled by shape-shifting druids, powerful fairies and elementals, and a noble family gifted and blighted by its history. Each Sevenwaters book reads well independently of the others and is their peer in quality. That the protagonists are, in the main, girls and young women places the saga squarely in the vein opened by the late Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon (1982). Sevenwaters' feminism is never heavy-handed, however, and its male characters are brilliantly and often fiercely drawn. The fitting conclusion to one of the best recent fantasy sagas should send newcomers scurrying for its predecessors, Daughter of the Forest (2000) and Son of the Shadows [BKL My 15 01]. Meanwhile, readers of all three volumes will sigh with pleasure, but also with regret at bidding Marillier's perfectly realized world adieu. Patricia Monaghan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“A rich tapestry of love and loss, family loyalty and personal sacrifice... this [is] an excellent conclusion to a fine trilogy.” –Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)

“Juliet Marillier is among the most skilled of fantasy writers”--Sara Douglass



Review
“A rich tapestry of love and loss, family loyalty and personal sacrifice... this [is] an excellent conclusion to a fine trilogy.” –Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)

“Juliet Marillier is among the most skilled of fantasy writers”--Sara Douglass



Book Description
Magic is fading... and the ways of Man are driving the Old Ones to the West, beyond the ken of humankind. The ancient groves are being destroyed, and if nothing is done, Ireland will lose its essential mystic core.

The prophecies of long ago have foretold a way to prevent this horror, and it is the Sevenwaters clan that the Spirits of Eire look to for salvation. They are a family bound into the lifeblood of the land, and their promise to preserve the magic has been the cause of great joy to them... as well as great sorrow.

It is up to Fianne, daughter of Niamh, the lost sister of Sevenwaters, to solve the riddles of power. She is the shy child of a reclusive sorcerer, and her way is hard, for her father is the son of the wicked sorceress Oonagh, who has emerged from the shadows and seeks to destroy all that Sevenwaters has striven for. Oonagh will use her granddaughter Fianne most cruelly to accomplish her ends, and stops at nothing to see her will done.

Will Fianne be strong enough to battle this evil and save those she has come to love?



About the Author
Juliet Marillier was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, a town with strong Scottish roots. She currently lives in a rural area of Western Australia, sharing her house with a cat and a dog. A university graduate in music and languages, she has had a varied career that includes working for government agencies, opera singing, and raising four children. Juliet now writes full time. Her lifelong interest in myth, legend, folklore and traditional music is a strong influence on both style and theme in her writing. A passion for early British history, reflecting her Celtic ancestry, is evident in her choice of settings.

Juliet Marillier achieved international recognition in 1999 with the publication of her award-winning novel Daughter of the Forest. This is the first book of the Sevenwaters Trilogy, a historical fantasy set in Ireland and Britain in the ninth century, and is loosely based on the traditional fairy tale, The Six Swans. The second book in the series, Son of the Shadows, won the 2000 Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. Child of the Prophecy completes this trilogy.

Juliet Marillier's second series is based on the first Viking voyage from Norway to Orkney, and weaves history and folklore into a saga of adventure, romance and magic. The series is made up of two novels, Wolfskin and Foxmask. Juliet is currently working on a new trilogy set in the north of Britain in the time of the Picts.

Juliet is a member of the druid order OBOD and of the Australian Greens Party, reflecting her commitment to environmental causes.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Child of the Prophecy, the third and concluding volume of Juliet Marillier's Sevenwaters trilogy, is a historical fantasy set in ninth-century Ireland that chronicles three generations of women who are called to stand up against enormous odds to preserve the old magic of their homeland.

In Marillier's debut novel, Daughter of the Forest, Sorcha -- the only daughter in a family with six sons -- must sacrifice everything to save her brothers from the evil sorceress Oonagh. Son of the Shadows takes place years later, when a prolonged peace has finally come to Sevenwaters. But when Sorcha's daughter Liadan fatefully meets Bran, the enigmatic leader of a band of mercenary warriors, she must choose between her own happiness and the safety of her family -- and her heritage.

Child of the Prophecy focuses on Fianne, Liadan's shy niece, who has grown up far away from Sevenwaters. Raised by her reclusive sorcerer father, Fianne lives an idyllic life -- that is, until her grandmother Oonagh arrives and informs her of her supposed role in a prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled. Marillier's Sevenwaters saga has it all -- folklore, mystery, romance, intrigue -- and is reminiscent of Marion Zimmer Bradley's classic retelling of the Arthurian legend, The Mists of Avalon. This trilogy is highly recommended, especially for young female readers who enjoy historical fantasy because of the courageous women protagonists who must draw upon their inner strength to protect themselves and their families. Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Magic is fading...and the ways of Man are conspiring to drive all the Old Ones to the West, beyond the ken of humankind. The ancient groves are being destroyed, and with their loss the land will lose an essential core if nothing is done." "The prophecies that were foretold so long ago say that there is a way to prevent this horror and it is the Sevenwaters clan that the spirits of Eire look to for salvation. They are a family bound into the very lifeblood of the land... and their promise to preserve the magic has been the cause of great joy - and sorrow - to them." For in truth, the ways of prophecies are never easy...and there are those who would use power for their own ends. It is left at last to Fainne, daughter of Niamh (the sister that was lost to the clan so long ago), to solve the riddles of power among the gods. A shy child of a reclusive sorcerer, she finds that her way is hard. For she is the granddaughter of the wicked sorceress Oonagh, who has emerged from the shadows of power and seeks to destroy all that the Sevenwaters have striven for... and who will use Fainne most cruelly to accomplish this fate. Will Fainne be strong enough to battle this evil and save those she has come to love?

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In the final book in her Sevenwaters Trilogy, Australian Marillier gathers the threads from the first two (Daughter of the Forest and Son of the Shadows) and weaves them together into a rich tapestry of love and loss, family loyalty and personal sacrifice. The saga of the guardians of the forest at Sevenwaters takes up the story of Fainne, daughter of the former Druid Ciaran and the lost Niamh. Raised in the ways of magic, Fainne plans to become a solitary sorcerer like her father, but fate intervenes in the form of her grandmother, Oonagh, a sorceress with a penchant for cruelty and a desire to put an end to everything the Sevenwaters folks stand for. A prophecy tells of a way to preserve the old magic, and Lady Oonagh is willing to trick her granddaughter and torture her own son to break it. Though Fainne is forced to bow to her grandmother's will, the love of her family and her own strong ethics help her remember her true nature, as she learns about herself, her powers of sorcery and the part she plays in a prophecy that has tested three generations of women. Though the romance elements that dominated The Son of the Shadows occasionally appear, this book centers on personal growth and filial duty; it can be enjoyed as a read-alone book, but is better understood with the preceding titles. Marillier's strong voice and rolling, lucid prose seem appropriate for a 10th-century Irish tale, and her command of a fantasy story's elements make this an excellent conclusion to a fine trilogy. (Mar. 27) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA - Rachelle Bilz

Marillier's Sevenwaters Trilogy concludes in this captivating finale to her richly imagined fantasy saga set in ancient Ireland. Sevenwaters, now held by Sean, is part of an alliance formed to wrest control of the Islands from Briton's Edwin of Northwoods. Sean's sister, Liadan, and her British husband, Bran, are parents to Johnny, believed to be the child of prophecy who will regain the Islands for the Fair Folk, ancient Celtic spirits essential to Ireland's well-being. Preparations for a final battle are underway. Many miles from Sevenwaters, on the desolate Kerry coast, Ciaran raises his daughter Fainne, whose only companion is Darragh, an itinerant tinker's son. Ciaran, son of a sorceress, was raised by Druids. Fainne has links to the supernatural and is adept at magic. When Fainne turns fifteen, her paternal grandmother Oonagh arrives with an edict: Destroy the alliance, damage those at Sevenwaters, and kill Johnny. Fainne knows that she is connected by blood to Sevenwaters but becomes ensnared in her malevolent grandmother's thirst for revenge. Family secrets, precious lives, and the fate of Ireland's very soul all hang in the balance as Fainne must choose between good and evil. Plot twists, action, romance, and magic make this entrancing fantasy novel certain to please high school students and adults. This novel can stand alone, but reading Daughter of the Forest (Tor, 2000/VOYA December 2000) and Son of the Shadows (2001, VOYA December 2001) would amplify the reader's pleasure. An incomparable fantasy tale, the Sevenwaters Trilogy should appeal to Lord of the Rings fans. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P S A/YA (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High,defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2002, Tor, 528p,

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