"Greg Keyes has always been . . . a skilled storyteller."--Terry
Brooks, New York Times bestselling author
The Curse shaped Aster's life from birth. At first, she believed her
father was its only victim, and determined to save him from it. In doing
so she learned that the Curse had stricken everyone in the magical
realms known as the Kingdoms - and that, in an attempt to protect her,
her father had himself created it. Now he is dead, a victim of his own
sorcery. But the Curse has not ended with him. Her father's actions, his
dread spell, were only the shadows cast by a much deeper, older
conflict, which is now unwinding the universe itself.
As the sun fades and the stars wink out, Aster must follow a clue from
her dead father to the highest, furthest domain - beyond the fairy-tale
kingdoms, through fantastic and terrifying realms of gods and demons, to
the very source of reality, the beginning and ending of everything.
There she might finally set things right. Her path is narrow, and the
sacrifices necessary for even a tiny chance at success are unacceptable.
For the Curse has also released a rot at the very heart of the High and
Faraway, an evil more ancient than time itself. It is against this
unwavering malevolence that Aster, Errol, Billy, Dusk and Delia must pit
themselves. They must do so without their friend Veronica, a girl
murdered decades before and brought back to life by Aster's magic. For
as Veronica discovers her own vast power, she stares into the face of
the enemy and sees in it her true self . . .
