Born in the desert to an exiled concubine and raised by dragons, Shana becomes a wizard of extraordinary power and leads a rebellion against the cruel elven empire ruled by her father In a world where elven overlords rule a human slave population, a young girl born of a forbidden liaison between elf and human finds shelter among the legendary dragons and discovers her destiny as the liberator of her world. Norton and Lackey combine their talents well in this high fantasy featuring an enterprising heroine and her dragon companion against a background of magic, treachery, and high emotion. Recommended where fantasy is popular. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. A collaborative effort from fantasy grande dame Norton and relative newcomer Lackey (the paperback Magic's Price), this tale of magic and intrigue offers a mixture of standard genre elements and an engaging plot. When Serina Daeth, favorite concubine of the Elf-Lord Dyran, conceives a half-blood child by him, she flees his wrath into the desert, where she quickly succumbs. But the child, born in Serina's dying moments, is rescued by a friendly dragon and raised with her own draconic brood. As the child Shana grows, she develops prodigious sorcerous powers--so strong that it seems she might be the fabled Elvenbane, powerful enough to free the enslaved humans from their elven oppressors. The dragons come to fear her unplumbed power, though, and cast her out. With a renegade elf-lord and his half-blood servant, and the aid of her remaining dragon friends, Shana prepares to challenge the elfish supremacy. Though battle is joined, a sequel is plainly on the way. Thoroughly rooted in genre traditions--with elves, dragons, unicorns, and sorcerers--but some variations make it more enjoyable than the average example: theses elves and unicorns, for instance, are cruel and dangerous, where in most fantasies they are shining examples of superhuman purity. Overall, then, despite shallow characters and a lack of real tension (we never doubt that Shana and friends will succeed), an entertaining adventure. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. 1st Edition