Description
A Darker Magic This Way Comes is the first tale in Merlin’s Secrets, a series of five books. It is an epic story of love and war, knights and wizardry, angels and goddesses and the cosmic clash between Darkness and Light. It is an exhilarating mix of adventure, myth, poetry, music, dance, philosophy and magic. It re-imagines of the Arthurian legend, written by Merlin to inspire the returning Arthur. But who is this Merlin? He is a man with the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, but with a wand. He reveals the secrets of his role as a shaman, magician and engineer in the first Battle of Britain. Set in the turbulent and brutal times of the fifth and sixth century, Merlin also writes of his love for a fairy from the Otherworld, Emily Charlotte Hughes, a high school student from twenty first century Exeter in Devon. Throughout the hundred years of the Merlin’s Secrets, Emily and Merlin swap the story telling role to give us both contemporary and historical insights into the characters and into the novel’s fast-paced action. But the young lovers will be separated by their complex destinies and they have only three days together. In that time they both engage with the evil of Moloch and Morgana as Emily as the Chosen One is abducted. Chosen for what? She has to find the answer.
Carmel Niland has lived two lives. In public she has been on the firing line working for a state government in Australia, leading agencies on gender and racial equality, human rights, child protection and disability services. But few people know about her endless fascination with historical legends, particularly the tale of King Arthur and of his famed magician Merlin.
For decades Merlin captivated her imagination and has seen her create her first novel based upon these ancient stories. With a passion for Roman British Archaeology mixed with a keen interest in the Arthurian legend, Carmel Niland has devoured every piece of literature she could get her hands on, and climbed every Iron Age and Roman Fort in England, Scotland and Wales if it was in any way associated with Arthur. This passion and knowledge about the once and future king compelled her to use her research to re-imagine his and Merlin’s story and to write the first book in the series of five for readers, who like her, loved secrets, mysteries and something strange.
This book is also available to download as a Kindle, and as an eBook from Apple iBooks, Kobo, OverDrive, and Barnes & Noble.
