''The Troy Game'' is a quartet by Australian author

Sara Douglass Sara Warneke (2 June 1957 – 27 September 2011), better known by her pen name Sara Douglass, was an Australian fantasy writer who lived in Hobart, Tasmania. She was a recipient of the Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. Biography A ...

consisting of four books: ''Hades' Daughter'', ''God's Concubine'', ''Darkwitch Rising'' and ''Druid's Sword''. It centres on a group of characters who are reincarnated at the end of each book and take the form of renowned historical figures from different ages. The entire series is set in London and focuses on the characters trying to complete the Troy Game, a kind of spell cast in the first book to protect the city.

Books

1. Hades' Daughter

Blurb: ''Created by gods. Destroyed by revenge. Reborn in the darkest magic of all. THE TROY GAME. The ancient Aegean sorcery lives on.''

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

bested the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

with the aid of

Ariadne Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...

, Mistress of the

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

. So when Theseus betrays her, Ariadne turns her wrath upon him and all his world, the catastrophe strikes the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

Thera Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek language, Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English language, English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast ...

explodes,

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

sinks below the waves, poisons fill the air, tidal waves inundate nations, entire peoples are destroyed.
Amid the chaos, the great city of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

falls, undone as much by Ariadne's revenge as by

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

cunning. Among the scattered

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

wanders one man,

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

, who carries with him the Troy Game, the greatest secret the western world has ever known. And Ariadne wants it – badly. As do her wicked daughter-heir successors.
The Greek goddess,

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

appears to Brutus and offers him a splendid and powerful future if only he can resurrect the Troy Game. Hungry for power and a home for his people, Brutus accepts her challenge. And so the Troy Game begins, on the shores of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

in ancient

Iron Age Britain The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ir ...

.
But the malevolent Minotaur,

Asterion In Greek mythology, Asterion (Greek: , gen.: , literally "starry") or Asterius () may refer to the following figures: * Asterion, one of the Potamoi. * Asterius, one of the Giants. * Asterion, an attendant of the starry-god Astraeus. * Aster ...

, has escaped death and seeks to destroy the Game completely. And Cornelia, Brutus’ strange, unknowable wife, trails death in her wake.
Everywhere lurks Ariadne’s legacy of hatred, carrying western Europe into a maelstrom of darkness. :''Taken from'': ''Hades' Daughter'', Sara Douglass, (c) 2002

2. God's Concubine

Blurb: ''The Troy Game lives - but can anyone control it?''
For 2000 years the Troy Game has survived Asterion’s murderous attempts to find Brutus’ Trojan kingship bands. Admitting defeat, Asterion must allow the rebirth of the Game’s creators…to lead him to the magical golden bands of Troy.
Now, two millennia after

Genvissa Venissa (Gwenissa, Genissa, Genvissa, Genuissa), according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th century ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', was a daughter of the Roman Emperor Claudius, whom he gave in marriage to the British king Arvirargus once he had sub ...

and Brutus founded the Game, they find themselves reborn into a vastly different world, a world where they are separated by ambitions and hatreds endangered by the approaching

Norman invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

of England. They discover that Cornelia has also returned, apparently more determined than previously to thwart them. And Coel has been reborn at her side, but this time with a sword in his hand.
Yet Brutus and Genvissa’s most deadly enemy may be the Troy Game itself. Left on its own for 2000 years, the Game has changed. Become aware. Become manipulative. Become devious. Become alive.
And Asterion, abroad in

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

London, is desperate to find it.
:''Taken from'': ''God's Concubine'', Sara Douglass, (c) 2004

3. Darkwitch Rising

Blurb: ''Out of a city devastated by plague and fire rises the most powerful Darkwitch in history.''
It is the seventeenth century, and once more the players of Troy Game are drawn back into its intricate dance. But this life there is a difference.
This life the Troy Game itself takes flesh, and walks.
Restoration London becomes the field of the most desperate battle yet. Can the Troy Game outmanoeuvre Asterion, who lurks in a nightmare lair he has built against the rear wall of the bone house of

St Dunstan-in-the-East St Dunstan-in-the-East was a Church of England parish church on St Dunstan's Hill, halfway between London Bridge and the Tower of London in the City of London. The church was largely destroyed in the Second World War and the ruins are now a publi ...

? It is here that Asterion traps Cornelia-reborn Noah Banks, and Genvissa-reborn Jane Orr. It is here that he manages the ultimate trickery in order to obtain the kingship bands, the Game and Noah.
But no one – not Asterion, not Brutus, not even Noah – could have anticipated an ancient Darkwitch rising from the dead with a secret so terrible it would not merely tear both the Game and land apart, but devastate any chance that Noah and her lover, Brutus can be together. :''Taken from'': ''Darkwitch Rising'', Sara Douglass, (c) 2005

4. Druid's Sword

Blurb: ''As

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

unleashes his bombs on London, another, more ancient, terror emerges...''
It is the early days of the Second World War. Grace - daughter of Asterion and Noah - remains bound in agony to Catling, her wrists cruelly scarred by the otherworldly restraints.
There are none, it seems, who can help Grace. Certainly not her mother or father.
Jack Skelton, Brutus-reborn and the love of Noah’s life, is the only one able to break through Grace’s carefully constructed barriers. It may be that Grace is not entirely helpless after all…
And while Genvissa-reborn and Coel-reborn attempt to identify exactly how to deal with the grip of the malevolent Troy Game, a killer stalks the streets of London creating terror upon terror as the bombers shadow the land. :''Taken from'': ''Druid's Sword'', Sara Douglass, (c) 2006 Set during 1939-1941, mainly during the period of the London Blitz, from 7 September 1940 to 10 May 1941, the book centres on Jack Skelton's (Brutus') desperate search for a means to not only save London, but the Faerie and all those he loves. He seems helplessly trapped, unable to find a solution, watching many of those he loves best lost to death for all time, until one day he finds himself in a long forgotten crypt, staring at a piece of marzipan fruit on a chipped plate, a half-full decanter of whisky and two dirty glasses, and a receipt from a seedy hotel, all of which sit on a crumbling altar. Suddenly, he has an idea ...

Recurring characters

Brutus of Troy Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British history as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears in the ''Historia Brittonum'', an anonymous ...

; later

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, Louis De Silva, Major Jack Skelton and Ringwalker * Cornelia; later Caela, Noah Banks and Eaving * Coel; later

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the C ...

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

, Harold Cole and Lord of the

Faerie Fairyland (''Faerie'', Scottish ''Elfame'', c.f. Old Norse ''Álfheimr'') in English and Scottish folklore is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or ''fays''. Old French (Early Modern English ) referred to an illusion or enchantment, the land ...

; later Swanne, Jane Orr, Stella Wentworth and the Caroller *

(

The Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

); later Amorian the Poiteran, Aldred the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

and Weyland Orr * Grace Orr * Catling (the Troy Game incarnate) * Ecub; later Marguerite Carteret * Erith; later Judith and Catherine (Kate) Pegge *

Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders (french: link=no, Mathilde; nl, Machteld) ( 1031 – 2 November 1083) was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy by marriage to William the Conqueror, and regent of Normandy during his absences from the duchy. She was t ...

; later

Catharine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. Sh ...

and Mrs Matilda Flanders * Loth; later Saeweald, James

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

(eventually

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

) and Walter Herne * Long Tom the Sidlesaghe * Reverend John Thornton; later

George VI of the United Kingdom George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

* Silvius; later Silvius Makris * The Imps; later Bill and Jim Philpot (the Pentinent Rippers in ''Druid's Sword'') *

Gog and Magog Gog and Magog (; he, גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג, ''Gōg ū-Māgōg'') appear in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran as individuals, tribes, or lands. In Ezekiel 38, Gog is an individual and Magog is his land; in Genesis 10, Magog is a man and epo ...

, legendary protectors of London * Mag, previous goddess of the waters, predecessor to Eaving * Og, previous god of the forests, predecessor to Ringwalker *

Prasutagus Prasutagus was king of a British Celtic tribe called the Iceni, who inhabited roughly what is now Norfolk, in the 1st century AD. He is best known as the husband of Boudica. Prasutagus may have been one of the eleven kings who surrendered to Clau ...

, husband of

Boudicca Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

; later Malcolm, Jack's servant in ''Druid's Sword'' * The White Queen

Historical significance

Each book in the ''Troy Game'' series relates to a significant historical event in Britain's (particularly London's) history.

References

* Douglass, Sara (2002). ''

Hades' Daughter ''Hades' Daughter'' is a fantasy novel by Australian writer by Sara Douglass, the first book in the Troy Game series. It is inspired, with some differences, to the legend of Theseus. Plot summary ''Hade's Daughter '' opens at the Troy Game ...

''.

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

* Douglass, Sara (2004). ''God's Concubine''.

* Douglass, Sara (2005). '' Darkwitch Rising''.

* Douglass, Sara (2006). ''Druid's Sword''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troy Game Fantasy novel series Voyager Books books Novels about reincarnation Literary tetralogies