Product Description

The sea is the
birthplace of legends.

Corwin has spent all of his sixteen years scavenging the land for his next meal. But when he discovers a unique shell of exquisite beauty, he is convinced it will bring him the riches he's longed for.

His hopes are dashed when the shell is stolen from him by evil King Vortigern's men. But the shell has left its mark. Corwin's head is filled with visions of a beautiful and mysterious girl. Soon, he comes face-to-face with the girl of his visions -- Nia, a mermyd from the ocean's depths, the lost city of Atlantis!

Together, Nia and Corwin must search for the stolen shell, for it holds the key to the future of Atlantis and also to Nia's and Corwin's very survival.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200385 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04
• Released on: 2002-04-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 233 pages

Review
"Teen readers will enjoy the adventure, magic, and mystery in this recommended purchase." (Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) )

About the Author
Kara Dalkey is the author of several fantasy books, including Little Sister, The Nightingale, and Blood of the Goddess series. She lives in Gunnison, CO.

Customer Reviews

The thrilling second book in the Water trilogy.
Life in Wales in the year 425 is hard, but for the sixteen years of his life, Corwin has managed to survive through hard work. He never knew his father, and barely remembers his mother. He was raised by Fenwyck, a traveling entertainer who on occasion turned to thievery. But now Fenwyck is dead, killed by the evil King Vortigern, and Corwin himself is a wanted man. Hiding in a cave by the shore, Corwin discovers a beautiful and unique shell. He hopes he can make a fortune selling it, but it is stolen from him by the King's men. Corwin then encounters Nia, a mysterious girl who says she is from the lost city of Atlantis. Nia is determined to get the shell back, because it is the key to her survival, and, as it turns out, Corwin's as well. Can Nia and Corwin outwit King Vortigern in time to save their own lives? I've been eager to read this book ever since I read the first in the Water trilogy, and I was not disappointed. Kara Dalkey is a wonderful author and I can't wait to read the final book in the series, Transformation.

A reasonably good adventure
The story continues in this second volume, as the point of view switches to a character we have not previousely met; Corwin, a sixteen year old orphan boy land-dweller living in the mid four-hundreds, for whom life is an everyday struggle, scavenging seashells to sell for a penny; avoiding all people for fear of them recognizing him for his dark deeds. When, early one morning, the fortune he's always dreamed of falls straight into his lap in the form as a stunningly beautiful seashell. It immediatelly begins gives him strange visions of beautiful girl from the sea. Frightened of what he fears may be his neglected magical talents resurfacing, Corwin tries to hide himself and the shell, only to find it almost immediately stolen from him, and the girl from his visions (Nia) meets him face to face, and from her he learns the awful truth. They have been mentally joined together by their respective magical talents through the bite of a small creature living in Corwin's shell; if they do not find the shell and the creature within seven days and complete a ceremony known as the Naming, then Corwin and Nia will both die. From then on it is a race against time, as this unusual sparkling fantasy adventure takes us to other worlds. This book was a reasonably good continuation of the first one, but it is definitely one of those books that's hard to really get unless you've read the first one. I bought the whole series at once, luckily. Another thing: the romance! Don't get me wrong here; I like romance all right, but I never like it just for the sake of it being romance, and I'm always very choosy about which couples I believe in. Nia and Corwin could have been very nice and cute, had it been presented in a different way. This book makes it seem like it was almost nothing but physical attraction on Corwin's part, and even that seems stiff and forced. The scene where Corwin 'has' to kiss Nia so he can breathe underwater will make even the most shallow teenager roll her/his eyes. Despite this however, it wasn't enough to make me take away more than one star, and I have high hopes that the final installment will be much better.

"The Sun Rides on his Shoulder but he Brings the Storm!"
"Reunion" is the second book in the "Water" trilogy, beginning with "Ascension" and ending in "Transformation". In the previous book, the sixteen year old mermyd Niniane (called "Nia" for short), discovered betrayal and conspiracy in her underwater home of Atlantis. With the escape of an evil mermyd named Ma'el and the Farworlder (powerful, intelligent squid-like creatures) that he is telepathically connected to, Atlantis was overthrown and Nia the last living Farworlder were thrown ashore.

The story picks up again from the point of view of Corwin, a young man whose master has recently been executed by the tyrannical King Vortigern and is now on the run himself. He makes his meager living as a beach-comber, and one this particular day he finds an extrodinary silvery shell but is soon chased from the shore by a terrible watery beast. He hopes that the shell will bring him some riches, but it is soon stolen by Vortigern's men despite the intervention of Nia herself, come ashore to save the young Farworlder-prince inside.

Joining forces, Nia explains to Corwin her story, and that he himself bears the mark of the Avatar (the person chosen to be linked to the Farworlder), as does she. If they do not retrieve the shell then Atlantis will be destroyed, and furthermore their very lives will be forfeit - if they do not complete the Avatar ceremony then the toxins released into their bodies via the shell will kill them. Thus, on a time limit of five days the two set out to save the Farworlder, all the while avoiding the threat of Ma'el at their backs.

The story is told exclusively from Corwin's point of view, which may be disappointing to those who were taken by Nia's wonderful character in the first book, but Corwin is an equally interesting, well-rounded character, though not as innately righteous as Nia - several times his thoughts stray towards thievery! Nia herself is remarkably able-footed on land, and heads the mission to save the Farworlder with a clear head and decisive leadership - though she's a bit too trusting toward Corwin, especially after her bad experience with Cephan.

The story races along nicely, as the teenagers attempt to control their new-found magical abilities and sort out the telepathic link between them, and although there are a few too many narrow-escapes, "Reunion" is a decent follow-up to the previous book. And if you felt that the name "Nia" and the sword "Eikis Calli Werr" rang a slight bell, then there are more clues in this book as to the real identities of Nia and Corwin (but don't give it away!)

Once more, the cover art is just beautiful, though hopelessly inaccurate (Nia's hair isn't golden, Corwin wore a *blue* cloak, and at no point do either of them use a boat). Ah well.