Author Description

In the last shadowed days of the Age of Bronze, one woman's vision of the future may help a lost people find a new home. "Drawing inspiration from Virgil's The Aeneid, Graham recreates a vivid picture of the ancient world." — Library Journal (starred review) The world is ending. One by one the mighty cities are falling, to earthquakes, to flood, to raiders on both land and sea. In a time of war and doubt, Gull is an oracle. Daughter of a slave taken from fallen Troy, chosen at the age of seven to be the voice of the Lady of the Dead, it is her destiny to counsel kings. When nine black ships appear, captained by an exiled Trojan prince, Gull must decide between the life she has been destined for and the most perilous adventure—to join the remnant of her mother's people in their desperate flight. From the doomed bastions of the City of Pirates to the temples of Byblos, from the intrigues of the Egyptian court to the haunted caves beneath Mount Vesuvius, only Gull can guide Prince Aeneas on his quest, and only she can dare the gates of the Underworld itself to lead him to his destiny. "Haunting and bittersweet, lush and vivid, this extraordinary story has lived with me since I first read it." — New York Times– bestselling author Naomi Novik