The Wandering Stars, the third entry in J. D. Rasch’s captivating ethical & philosophical fantasy series called The Wanderer, is now available!
For readers who may be new to the series, SciFiChick.com is pleased to offer an excerpt from the first book in the series, The Silver Forest.
One US-based reader has a chance to win all three books to date: The Silver Forest, The Quasi-Crystal, and The Wandering Stars. (See entry form below.) One winner will be chosen and notified by email on Friday, November 20th.
A Special Excerpt from The Silver Forest
SEVENTY YEARS. SEVENTY LONG YEARS wasted, searching for the golden pulcher tree, hoping to find it and tap its knowledge, to make things right. It was so long ago that he and the other eight wizards had left Insula to come to this backward land of Bracat. The Great Council in Insula, sensing the tree was here, had sent the holy number of nine wizards to this land, but when they arrived, they found nothing.
These thoughts echoed in Malzus’s mind as he left the wedding hall. He had just been married. It was the only way to save the Nine now that Vetus was so sick. If Vetus died—Malzus shook his head—when Vetus died, there would only be eight wizards, and that was not enough to find the golden pulcher tree, the tree of knowledge, at least according to the Koan. The children of the other wizards, the children they had before they took their vows, were back in Insula. And the wizards were so old now that, even if they were given a waiver of their celibacy vow, as they had done for him, it was doubtful they could sire a child. So it was up to him, assuming he had a boy. If not . . . well, they’d have to deal with that later.
His wife waited for him; he was excited. He wondered what sex was like, but he was also scared. Celibacy focused his mind. If he gave that up, would he be strong enough to find the tree?
