The Praelium

Lisa Riddoch’s first book in her new fantasy Praelium trilogy, LIGHT AND DARK is a large, sprawling, multi-verse book that yet asks the intimate question: are we defined by nature or nurture? Two sets of twins come into their powers, untrained, on their fifteenth birthdays. Cat and Sam are loved and nurtured by their aunt, uncle, and allies, as they flee across worlds learning what their powers are, how to use them, and how to save their people. Zak and Ana are twins separated at birth, brought together by a powerful sorceress claiming to be their aunt, training them with firmness and cruelty as they hunt Cat and Sam. But what will define the true nature of these teens? In addition to the detailed worlds Riddoch creates for them to travel through on their quest, she has the skill and imagination to refuse to blockade the teens into stringent “good” and “evil” roles. This is especially important when it comes to Zak and Ana, who have far more complex issues of survival and core strength to face than their counterparts. The tension between how others determine to shape all four teens and their individual and collective determination to have some control in shaping themselves gives the novel a welcome and unusual dimension. LIGHT AND DARK ends on a cliffhanger, promising intrigue and hard choices in the remaining two books.