Born to Exile
Encyclopedia
Born to Exile is a fantasy novel by author Phyllis Eisenstein
, the first of her two Alaric novels. It was originally published in 1978
by longtime U. S. specialty press Arkham House
in a first edition
trade hardcover of 4,148 copies; it has since been published in several mass-market paperback editions and again in hardcover
in the UK. Portions of the novel were first serialized as individual shorter works through The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
. (The second novel in the series, In The Red Lord's Reach, was first published in 1989 as a mass-market paperback from Signet Books and as a 1992 UK hardcover from Grafton
, having been first serialized in 1988 as three monthly installments in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.)
. The novel details his journey to uncover the secrets of his own past and the true nature of his mysterious ability.
For eight weary months, Alaric the minstrel trudged the lonely road of exile. Born with preternatural powers, the infant Alaric had been found by foster parents abandoned on a hillside, newborn and naked, with a bloody, severed hand clutching his ankles. Older and with those powers on full display, he suddenly found himself rejected by his foster family, branded a witch-child. Alaric now wanders the world as a solitary wayfarer, with only a knapsack, a few clothes, and a lute his only possessions.
On this journey, he encounters the craggy towers and shining spires of a distant castle, like some gleaming vision in one his songs. Within, Alaric is accepted as court minstrel but becomes embroiled in palace intrigue that involves Medron, the court magician, and the King's daughter, Princess Solinde. Subsequently, he journey's to the sinister Inn of the Black Swan and then to a superstition-ensorcelled village. There, Alaric is restored to his supernatural antecedents, known as the Lords of All Power.
Phyllis Eisenstein
Phyllis Eisenstein is an American author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels. She was born in Chicago, Illinois and has lived there most of her life. While attending college at the University of Chicago, she met her future husband Alex at a weekly gathering of Chicago's science...
, the first of her two Alaric novels. It was originally published in 1978
1978 in literature
The year 1978 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year, a humorous award given annually to books with unusual titles is created. The first winner was Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude...
by longtime U. S. specialty press Arkham House
Arkham House
Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in weird fiction founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to preserve in hardcover the best fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. The company's name is derived from Lovecraft's fictional New England city, Arkham. Arkham House...
in a first edition
First edition
The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed “from substantially the same setting of type,” including all minor typographical variants.- First edition :...
trade hardcover of 4,148 copies; it has since been published in several mass-market paperback editions and again in hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
in the UK. Portions of the novel were first serialized as individual shorter works through The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
. (The second novel in the series, In The Red Lord's Reach, was first published in 1989 as a mass-market paperback from Signet Books and as a 1992 UK hardcover from Grafton
Grafton
- Places :Australia* Grafton, New South WalesCanada* Grafton, New Brunswick* Grafton, OntarioEngland* Grafton, Cheshire* Grafton, Herefordshire* Grafton, North Yorkshire* Grafton, Oxfordshire* Grafton, Shropshire* Grafton, Wiltshire...
, having been first serialized in 1988 as three monthly installments in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.)
Plot summary
Born to Exile concerns the adventures of a wandering minstrel called Alaric, who possesses the otherwise unknown ability to teleportTeleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
. The novel details his journey to uncover the secrets of his own past and the true nature of his mysterious ability.
For eight weary months, Alaric the minstrel trudged the lonely road of exile. Born with preternatural powers, the infant Alaric had been found by foster parents abandoned on a hillside, newborn and naked, with a bloody, severed hand clutching his ankles. Older and with those powers on full display, he suddenly found himself rejected by his foster family, branded a witch-child. Alaric now wanders the world as a solitary wayfarer, with only a knapsack, a few clothes, and a lute his only possessions.
On this journey, he encounters the craggy towers and shining spires of a distant castle, like some gleaming vision in one his songs. Within, Alaric is accepted as court minstrel but becomes embroiled in palace intrigue that involves Medron, the court magician, and the King's daughter, Princess Solinde. Subsequently, he journey's to the sinister Inn of the Black Swan and then to a superstition-ensorcelled village. There, Alaric is restored to his supernatural antecedents, known as the Lords of All Power.
Publishing history
- New York: Dell Books, first US mass-market paperback edition, 1980.
- New York:Del Rey BooksDel Rey BooksDel Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
, (mass-market reprint) 1981. - New York: New American LibraryNew American LibraryNew American Library is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948; it produced affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works, as well as popular, pulp, and "hard-boiled" fiction. Non-fiction, original, and hardcopy issues were also produced.Victor Weybright and Kurt...
, (mass-market reprint) 1989. - London: Grafton, UK hardcover First Edition, 1992.