Dark Moon of Avalon: A Novel of Tristan and Isolde

The second installment of Elliot's Twilight of Avalon trilogy returns to the tale of former Queen Isolde and her devoted champion, Trystan. Now that Britain is in danger of falling to treacherous Lord Marche and his ruthless Saxon allies, Isolde knows that her only chance to save the kingdom is a desperate alliance with Saxon king Cerdic, whose willingness is uncertain. Trystan escorts Isolde on her quest to find Cerdic and, in the process, she learns more than she'd like about their time apart, during which he endured everything from slavery to torture; their greatest challenge, however, will be to trust their love. Elliot brings the Arthurian world to rich life, creating a Britain both familiar and distinctly alien to fans of medieval romances. Though Tristan and Isolde's romantic hedging, an obvious play to prolong the sexual tension, can frustrate, fans of the first book should be satisfied with this intermediary episode. (May)