Illengond

The Daegmon War #3

by Matthew Dickerson

"In The Gifted and The Betrayed, Matthew Dickerson's masterful story-telling and talent for suspenseful narrative draw us into the battle to save Gondisle from the Daegmon Lord. Dickerson brings to the creation of fantasy epic his keen observation of the natural world. Gondisle's woods, plains, mountains, and marshes seem as real as those of our world. Nature is a living presence in The Daegmon War, and Dickerson follows in the footsteps of Tolkien and Lewis in making of fantasy the art of re-enchanting the world. This series satisfies our hunger for meaning as well as it satisfies our thirst for adventure." --Benjamin Myers, former poet laureate of Oklahoma. Daegmons have wreaked destruction on Gondisle. The hope of the land rests on a small group of heroes who possess mystical powers of healing, shaping, knowledge, speech with creatures, and supernatural strength in battle. Yet the combined strengths and gifts of these heroes seem woefully inadequate, while the enemy grows more powerful each day. In the third volume of this series of epic high fantasy, Tienna, Elynna and their companions, after suffering a devastating defeat, flee east across the wild and rugged Undeani highlands, while Thimeon and Prince Dhan and their small band race north with two treasures from the troves of a weapon of power, and an ancient tome of wisdom. Yet Daegmons and the armies of Citadel pursue both companies, whose desperate quests to escape and reunite lead them straight toward Illengond, the ancient holy mountain of the All-Maker. To survive, Tienna must learn what it means to be a healer, Elynna must become a leader, Thimeon must understand ancient wisdom, and all must cling to courage and hope in the midst of loss.

392 pages, Paperback

Published July 31, 2017

About the author

Matthew Dickerson (PhD, Cornell University) is a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, a writer, the former director of the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf and the current co-director of the Northern Pen Young Writers' Conference. His previous works include fantasy novels The Gifted and The Betrayed; works about fantasy including From Homer to Harry Potter along with Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C. S. Lewis, A Hobbit Journey, and Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J. R .R. Tolkien; some medieval historic romance including The Rood and the Torc; and even philosophy of mind and computation The Mind and the Machine: What it Means to be Human and Why it Matters.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. I really don't think I have done any of the books in this series justice with my reviews. Matthew Dickerson has created a story-line beyond my comprehension. I could not put this book , or any in the series, down. Every free moment was spent reading. Thankful for washing machines and dryers that do the hard work for me. I can have clean clothes and do what I really love, READ a fabulous book (too bad there isn't a reasonably priced machine to fold clothes too). So we are all going to be a little wrinkled over the next week, but it will be worth the time I got to read and be absorbed into this adventure/quest. Do yourself a favor, take some time for yourself and sit and read this series! Its about a band of weary citizens doing what is right; fighting evil, even when there are powers at work much stronger than them. Uniting a divided country against a common enemy and learning about themselves and each other in the process. I hope Matthew Dickerson writes more about this country and its citizens!

[Mariah Raichert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! It is very deep, and I really love his ties to The Bible, Tolkien and Lewis! His series have Gospel truth and beautiful countries and great characters and they also have development, and the series are very uplifting and Dickerson talked about how powerful prayer is, and the classic hope and despair and good vs evil and they’re also unpredictable and even though they’re fantasy, they can relate to real life. And also even though they’re related to Tolkien and Lewis, Dickerson sort of did the battle differently.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the series! Great world-building and characters. I hope there is more in the future!