The Mark of Solomon, Part 2: The Empty Kingdom
(Viking, coming soon on 17 April 2008)
About the book:
In The Lion Hunter, Telemakos—the half-British, half-Aksumite grandson of King Arthur—was sent for his safety to stay with one of Aksum’s former enemies. When Abreha, ruler of Himyar, allegedly the boy’s protector, catches him in the midst of what appears to be treachery, he compels Telemakos’s obedience by threatening him with a traitor’s death. But the practical punishments that Abreha administers in addition to this warning seem harder to bear than execution. Telemakos is guarded as a prisoner. Not only is he forbidden to see his beloved younger sister, Athena, but he is also commanded to reproduce the maps that Abreha plans to use in order to invade Aksumite territory. Separated from his own people by mountain and sea, lacking any way to tell his family what has happened, Telemakos must bring all of his subtle talents to bear in order to regain his freedom.
The Empty Kingdom is the riveting conclusion to the Mark of Solomon duology.
“I opened The Empty Kingdom and found myself as drawn to Telemakos’s quest as I was in The Sunbird and in The Lion Hunter. Once again, Elizabeth Wein artfully launches her quill across kingdoms, intrigue and risky alliances. Once again, Telemakos endures unspeakable trials to heart and breath. Surely this isn’t the last of this richly imagined world, or its heroes.”
—Rita Williams-Garcia, author of Like Sisters On the Homefront and No Laughter Here