This title will be released on February 21, 2012.
This is the third of a series of five... the first two have been released the last two years:
Elizabeth Moon has called Echoes of Betrayal "the hinge book" that holds the series together. She picked up the story where Paksenarion left off, which I first read as one volume. I love how the world is so intricate and so many characters are developed, plus history!! There are references to the history of the world and long-time prejudices.
I follow Elizabeth Moon's blog as she posts behind-the-scenes as she writes the story. Orbit UK catalog listed this book as the grand finale, which is obviously a mistake. (Amazing how many mistakes are rampant in the book world, hey?) She recently posted this Secret Snippet:
Today’s snippet of Echoes is from a sidestory that wasn’t working in the book itself–well, part of it is, but the specific conversations aren’t there. So this is something you’ll know when you read the book that others won’t.
And the snippet will make more sense when you have the book. Actually this is two chunks, two different conversations.
Where: in or near Harway, in Tsaia
Who: POV is Daryan Serrostin (Dorrin’s squire), his father Duke Serrostin, and Gwennothlin Marrakai
1) Duke Serrostin is trying to persuade his son to leave Dorrin’s service and come home with him.
“It’s…not natural,” his father said. “It has bark.” His look at Daryan’s hand mixed fear and loathing.
“It won’t have, when it’s grown out,” Daryan said. “The Kuakgan told me.”
“You could have needles sprouting from it.”
“No, sir, I won’t. He said so.” Daryan looked at his hand himself. True, his thumb somewhat resembled a twig, and the place where it joined into his hand had a strange bulging rim now, the skin there brown and a little wrinkled. But it was already fatter than it had been the first time he looked at it and best of all, he could move and use it already.
“And your legs. I swear I could see the green under your skin.”
“I can’t, sir,” Daryan said. It was not quite true. Just on the side of his ankle, where the skin was thinnest and the heelstring closest to the surface, he thought he could see one thin green stripe, like a thread. But maybe it was just a vein. It was a bluish green.
“Green blood!” his father said. “And our family has been Girdish for generations!”
2) Gwennothlin talks to Daryan after his father storms off to talk to Dorrin.
Gwenno Marrakai leaned on the doorpost. “Your father is furious,” she said.
“He wants me to go home. I won’t.”
Her eyebrows went up. “Dar–you’re not of age–”
“Almost. Right after the Spring Evener.”
…………………………
Something has happened, and Daryan is “contaminated” with “green blood. ” There’s a religious sense to this, as well as biological…the Kuakkgani are uncanny, mysterious folk and some Girdish feel they just aren’t…well…right.
