Jan Siegel has created one of the most compelling fantasy series in recent memory. What began with Prospero’s Children and continued with The Dragon Charmer now comes to a dazzling conclusion with of The Witch Queen . Magnetically gifted Fern Capel has at last come into her own with her magical powers—and just in time. . . . It is a fearsome world of witches, dragons, and goblins, where a gnarled tree bears fruit of human heads. Fern Capel believes she has left it all behind. But now that world is seeping into modern day England: The witch-queen Morgus, who had imprisoned Fern in the ghostly Otherworld, has returned from countless years of exile beneath the gruesome Eternal Tree. Stalking the twenty-first century in her Prada stilettos, Morgus has the mind-set of the Dark Ages and vows to rule the ancient kingdom of Logrez, now modern Britain. Most of all, Morgus wants revenge on Fern Capel. Rejuvenated through sorcery, neither charm nor weapon can harm the witch-queen. She has planted a cutting from the Eternal Tree in the real world and awaits with impatience the ripening of its terrifying bounty. When Fern learns that her enemy cannot be defeated through conventional means, she turns for help to her best friend, Gaynor, her brother Will, her old mentor, Ragginbone, and Maldo, the goblin-queen. Together, they track Morgus through London’s high-society parties and seedy, sinister contacts, until they finally draw a magic circle in a Soho basement. Fern Capel knows that survival is not enough: This time she must win. But she does not yet understand how high a price she will have to pay. In this thrilling final novel of her acclaimed trilogy, Jan Siegel takes advantage of her greatest strengths as a writer—weaving magic into a modern-day world and bringing vivid life to a host of characters that readers will not soon forget. Modern-day witch Fern Capel strives to piece her life back together after her imprisonment by the ancient sorceress Morgus only to find her dreams disturbed by intimations that her battle with her captor is not yet over. Following Prospero's Children and The Dragon Queen, the third installment of a series featuring a young, resourceful practitioner of magic in the modern world draws upon Arthurian legends and Atlantean myths to create a new twist on an old tale of passion rekindled and love betrayed. Siegel creates complex, believable characters caught in a web of treachery and intrigue. For most fantasy collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. This is the rousing third book--after Prospero's Children (2000) and The Dragon Charmer (2001)--of the exploits of Fern Capel; her brother, Will; her best friend, Gaynor Mobberley; and the ancient Ragginbone. She is now grown up and a twenty-first-century witch of considerable power. But the unthinkable has occurred: Morgus, presumed dead at Fern's hands, has in fact survived, thanks to crawling into the river Styx, which healed her and made her invulnerable. Now Morgus is back in England, seeking revenge on Fern, who is still threatened by the evil Azmordis. Infusions of Scottish lore, Arthurian legend, and the myth of Atlantis intensify an often spine-tingling story of a variety of mythical and mystical figures, including some already extant on Earth and others magically summoned by Fern or Morgus. At the yarn's electrifying climax, Fern beards Azmordis in his lair, not to accept his terms but to offer him hers. Steadfast fans will appreciate Siegel's adept plotting, characterizations, and plumbing of the preternatural in her series' welcome new episode. Sally Estes Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Jan Siegel has created one of the most compelling fantasy series in recent memory. What began with Prospero s Children and continued with The Dragon Charmer now comes to a dazzling conclusion with of The Witch Queen . Magnetically gifted Fern Capel has at last come into her own with her magical powers and just in time. . . . It is a fearsome world of witches, dragons, and goblins, where a gnarled tree bears fruit of human heads. Fern Capel believes she has left it all behind. But now that world is seeping into modern day England: The witch-queen Morgus, who had imprisoned Fern in the ghostly Otherworld, has returned from countless years of exile beneath the gruesome Eternal Tree. Stalking the twenty-first century in her Prada stilettos, Morgus has the mind-set of the Dark Ages and vows to rule the ancient kingdom of Logrez, now modern Britain. Most of all, Morgus wants revenge on Fern Capel. Rejuvenated through sorcery, neither charm nor weapon can harm the witch-queen. She has planted a cutting from the Eternal Tree in the real world and awaits with impatience the ripening of its terrifying bounty. When Fern learns that her enemy cannot be defeated through conventional means, she turns for help to her best friend, Gaynor, her brother Will, her old mentor, Ragginbone, and Mald