內容簡介
Frostmourne.
It was caught in a hovering, jagged chunk of ice, the runes that ran the length of its blade glowing a cool blue. Below it was a dais of some sort, standing on a large gently raised mound that was covered in a dusting of snow. A soft light, coming from somewhere high above where the cavern was open to daylight, shone down on the runeblade. The icy prison hid some details of the sword's shape and form, exaggerated others. It was revealed and concealed at the same time, and all the more tempting, like a new lover imperfectly glimpsed through a gauzy curtain. Arthas knew the blade -- it was the selfsame sword he had seen in his dream when he first arrived. The sword that had not killed Invincible, but that had brought him back healed and healthy. He'd thought it a good omen then, but now he knew it was a true sign. This was what he had come to find. This sword would change everything. Arthas stared raptly at it, his hands almost physically aching to grasp it, his fingers to wrap themselves around the hilt, his arms to feel the weapon swinging smoothly in the blow that would end Mal'Ganis, end the torment he had visited upon the people of Lordaeron, end this lust for revenge. Drawn, he stepped forward.
The uncanny elemental spirit drew its icy sword. "Turn away, before it is too late," it intoned.
His evil is legend. Lord of the undead Scourge, wielder of the runeblade Frostmourne, and enemy of the free peoples of Azeroth. The Lich King is an entity of incalculable power and unparalleled malice -- his icy soul utterly consumed by his plans to destroy all life on the World of Warcraft.
But it was not always so. Long before his soul was fused with that of the orc shaman Ner'zhul, the Lich King was Arthas Menethil, crown prince of Lordaeron and faithful paladin of the Silver Hand.
When a plague of undeath threatened all that he loved, Arthas was driven to pursue an ill-fated quest for a runeblade powerful enough to save his homeland. Yet the object of his search would exact a heavy price from its new master, beginning a horrifying descent into damnation. Arthas's path would lead him through the arctic northern wastes toward the Frozen Throne, where he would face, at long last, the darkest of destinies.
作者簡介
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists, which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. To the best of her knowledge, she is the creator of the elven vampire archetype in fantasy fiction.
She is the author of several original fantasy novels, including On Fire’s Wings, In Stone’s Clasp, and Under Sea’s Shadow (currently available only as an e-book) the first three in her multi-book fantasy series “The Final Dance” from LUNA Books. In Stone’s Clasp won the Colorado Author’s League Award for Best Genre Novel of 2005, the second of Golden’s novels to win the award.
Among Golden’s other projects are over a dozen Star Trek novels and the well-received StarCraft Dark Templar trilogy, Firstborn, Shadow Hunters, and Twilight. An avid player of Blizzard’s MMORPG World of Warcraft, Golden has written several novels in that world (Arthas, Lord of the Clans, Rise of the Horde) with more in the works, including The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, due out in August 2010. She has also written two Warcraft manga stories for Tokyopop, “I Got What Yule Need” and “A Warrior Made.”
Golden is currently hard at work on three books in the major nine-book Star Wars series “Fate of the Jedi,” in collaboration with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Her first book in the series, Omen, hit shelves in June of 2009, and her second, Allies, is slated for publication in early summer of 2010.
精彩書評
''This book is an overdosed cocktail of lore and continuity that will numb your senses....I can only say one thing about this. I (beep) love this book!!!"
-- Blizzplanet.com
前言/序言
洛丹倫的悲歌:一個王子的隕落與王國的凋零 書籍名稱: 暮光挽歌:艾澤拉斯的失落王冠 (小說,史詩奇幻) 字數: 約 1500 字 --- 序章:霜風中的低語 洛丹倫,曾經是人類七國中最輝煌的明珠,如今卻被一層永恒的寒霜所籠罩,空氣中彌漫著腐敗與絕望的氣息。本書不講述任何關於那位著名的、被霜之哀傷選中的王子的故事,而是將筆墨聚焦於洛丹倫陷落前後,那些同樣被命運洪流裹挾的個體與群體。 這是一部關於選擇、責任、以及在文明崩塌之際,個體如何努力維持微弱人性的史詩挽歌。故事從洛丹倫王城北郊一個平靜的采礦小鎮——維瑟爾鎮開始,那裏的人們依靠山脈中豐富的礦藏過活,對王室的紛爭和遠方的瘟疫一無所知。 第一部:瘟疫的陰影與信仰的考驗 在遠方,疾病如同無聲的潮水,正在緩慢而堅定地吞噬著王國的心髒。然而,在維瑟爾鎮,人們首先感受到的,卻是來自信仰的動搖。 主要人物綫索: 1. 首席牧師 埃爾文·德雷剋: 埃爾文是維瑟爾鎮聖光大教堂的領袖,一個信仰堅不可摧的中年人。瘟疫的消息起初被王室斥為謠言,但當第一批帶著詭異病癥的難民湧入鎮子時,埃爾文的信仰遭遇瞭前所未有的考驗。他拒絕相信聖光會拋棄他的子民,但眼睜睜看著被隔離的教徒們轉化為嗜血的怪物,讓他開始質疑自己所侍奉的神祇的旨意。他的掙紮,體現在對那些幸存者的無望救贖中,他必須決定,是堅守教義,還是為瞭生存而采取近乎“異端”的殘酷措施。 2. 礦工領隊 葛林·石拳: 葛林代錶著洛丹倫的普通勞動階層。他務實、強壯,對貴族的腐敗心知肚明,但對王權仍抱有一絲敬畏。當瘟疫爆發,他的采礦隊伍被徵召去挖掘深埋的古墓——據說那裏有能夠對抗疾病的草藥。然而,他們挖掘齣的,卻是被遺忘的黑暗曆史,以及被壓製在地下的古老邪惡。葛林的故事綫著重於資源短缺、社會秩序的崩潰,以及普通人在麵對超自然恐怖時的原始反應——逃跑、反抗,或是絕望的團結。 3. 邊境巡邏官 萊婭·風行者(非王室血脈): 萊婭是洛丹倫邊境巡邏隊的一名經驗豐富的斥候,隸屬於一個被遺忘的北方哨站。她對王城中心的政治鬥爭不感興趣,隻忠於腳下的土地和她手下那群被認為已經墮落的遊俠。當瘟疫切斷瞭與洛丹倫的通訊後,萊婭發現,真正威脅邊境的,並非來自獸人或亡靈的軍隊,而是那些試圖趁亂占領戰略要地的腐敗貴族代理人,以及被恐懼驅動的難民潮。她必須運用遊俠的智慧,在人類的自相殘殺和未知的威脅之間找到一條生存之道。 第二部:堡壘的淪陷與希望的碎片 隨著疫情的惡化,洛丹倫王城內部的防禦體係開始瓦解。本書的第二部分,將視野擴大到王城周邊被遺棄的軍事要塞和貴族莊園。 事件焦點: 要塞“鐵壁”的圍攻: “鐵壁”是一座具有戰略意義的軍事要塞,由經驗豐富但日益傲慢的伯爵指揮。瘟疫到達時,伯爵拒絕相信普通士兵會被感染,導緻病毒在軍營內迅速傳播。本書詳細描繪瞭這座要塞內部的權力鬥爭:是聽從伯爵的無謂抵抗,還是由底層軍官主導的絕望突圍? 埃爾文牧師被派往“鐵壁”提供精神支持,但最終不得不麵對一個殘酷的現實:一些被感染的士兵,在理智尚存的片刻,請求他實施安樂死。他的決定,將決定他能否繼續站在聖光的立場,或是徹底墮入為生存而戰的深淵。 與此同時,葛林和他的礦工,被強徵為防禦工事的勞動力。他們利用自己對地下結構的瞭解,試圖開闢秘密通道逃離,卻無意中喚醒瞭深埋在要塞地基下的某種更古老的、與亡靈瘟疫無關的恐怖生物——這使得“鐵壁”的陷落,變成瞭多方勢力的混戰。 第三部:霜風下的抉擇 在洛丹倫的格局徹底崩塌時,幸存者們被迫嚮南或嚮東遷徙,尋找新的庇護所。 萊婭斥候的任務,變成瞭在混亂中組織一支流亡隊伍,護送維瑟爾鎮上那些重要的學者、手工藝者和無法自衛的民眾穿越被遺棄的村莊。他們遭遇的挑戰不再僅僅是疾病,而是劫掠者、走投無路的難民,以及那些相信隻有“純血”纔能活下去的極端主義幸存者群體。 主題升華: 本書的核心,在於展示一個社會在失去中央權威和共同信仰後,道德的彈性與脆弱。當“巫妖王”這個概念尚未成為所有人心中的恐懼時,人們已經開始互相殘殺,為爭奪一口乾淨的水源、一張乾燥的毯子而戰。 埃爾文牧師最終做齣瞭他的選擇:他放棄瞭對聖光奇跡的執著,轉而專注於人性的互助。他不再是宣講天堂的牧師,而是一名救護者,用自己所剩無幾的醫藥知識,盡力減輕痛苦,即便這意味著他必須親手執行那些違背他早期教義的決定。 葛林領隊則成為瞭流亡隊伍的實際保護者,他發現,真正的力量並非來自礦鎬,而是來自組織和堅韌的意誌。他帶領幸存者們進入瞭山脈深處,利用他的采礦知識建立瞭一個隱蔽的、依靠自給自足的庇護所。 尾聲:灰燼中的希望 當故事結束時,洛丹倫已成定局。那些曾經的輝煌,如今隻剩下一片被冰冷力量統治的廢墟。幸存者們沒有迎來勝利,也沒有獲得宏大的救贖。他們僅僅是活瞭下來,帶著對失去傢園刻骨銘心的記憶。 萊婭和她的遊俠小隊,成功地將大部分流亡者護送到瞭相對安全的南方邊境,在那裏,他們遇到瞭其他逃亡者的零星群體。他們沒有建立起一個新的王國,隻是建立瞭一個臨時的社區,一個承諾互相扶持的契約。 本書聚焦於“失敗”的代價,以及在真正的災難麵前,那些不被史詩記載的小人物如何定義瞭勇氣和人道。它描繪瞭在光芒熄滅之後,黑暗降臨時,個體依然能做齣的,最艱難也最有意義的選擇。這是一個關於失去的世界,以及如何在灰燼中重建信任的故事。 ---