Author: C. S. Friedman
Read By: Ray Childs

For the Magister Trilogy, Friedman conjures a world in which the price of using magic is the death of either the magician or a consort on whose life force he feeds. Ordinary witches usually die young. But magisters--all male, for it is believed that women cannot make the transition from witch to magister--are practically immortal, taking consort after consort and using them up. Prince Andovan, son of a powerful king, has fallen ill with a wasting disease. When his father consults the magisters, they realize that an unknown magister has taken the prince for a consort. They won't say so, however, for that would put their lives and power at risk. But Magister Colivar helps the prince fake a suicide to track down his unknown exploiter. King Danton, driven nearly mad by his son's "death," falls victim to a souleater, which is worse than a magister. Magisters are parasitic; souleaters can destroy the world. Powerful, intricate plotting and gripping characters distinguish a book in which ethical dilemmas are essential and engrossing.

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