The Burning Land
A sweeping tale of magic, oppression, danger, love, temptation, and revelation...
After long years of oppression, the rightful rulers of Arsace have finally reclaimed the holy city of Baushpar and the First Temple of Ârata. At last, the desecrated shrines can be rebuilt and the people's suffering redressed. But tensions between the secular and sacred worlds abound, and rumors arise of heretic Shapers - powerful mages who hold no allegiance either to the King or to the leaders of the Âratist church, and whose magics know no restraint.
Deep in the sacred wastes of the Burning Land, the Dreamer Axane has dared to seek visions of the outside world beyond the hidden enclave of Refuge - a world the people of Refuge no longer believe exists, a world that has no tolerance for change and will soon breach the boundaries of Refuge's secret sanctuary. But Axane's Dreaming is forbidden, and to warn her people is to doom herself...
Chosen to lead an expedition to reclaim the renegade mages, Gyalo Amdo Samchen, priest and Shaper, must cross the Burning Land in a deadly adventure of danger and temptation, a journey that will force him to face his innermost demons and possibilities both sacred and profane. For Refuge hides a shocking truth about the nature of the world itself - a secret that heralds both destruction and transformation, and whose revelation will ignite a holy war.
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Victoria Strauss
Victoria Strauss was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, and graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in comparative religion. She wrote her first novel when she was seventeen during a year off between high school and college. The author of The Burning Land, The Garden of the Stone, and The Arm of the Stone, Strauss lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her husband and three cats.
The Burning Land
The Burning Land consists of two books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
