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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Sep 2000, 320 pages
Paperback:
Jan 2003, 576 pages
The Sterkarm Handshake is a stirring tale of a clash of two cultures, beautifully told by master storyteller Susan Price.
The Sterkarms have plundered the border between Scotland and England for generations. Suddenly intruders, calling themselves Elves, want the Sterkarms to stop their violent ways.
The Elves, time travelers from the 21st century, have found a way back to the 16th century and plan to do their own plundering of the land's rich natural resources. Their only mistake is foolishly underestimating the Sterkarms themselves.
For Andrea Mitchell, an anthropologist working among the Sterkarms, none of this matters. In love with Per -- a young Sterkarm warrior -- and feted as a beautiful Elf-May, she's never known such happiness in her own time.
But when Per receives a deadly injury, Andrea's decision to take him into the 21st century to save him has explosive results. Per, seeing how powerful and destructive the Elves truly are, swears to keep them from his land forever. And in the bloody battle that ensues, Andrea must finally choose whose side she is on.
The Sterkarm Handshake is a stirring tale of a clash of two cultures, beautifully told by master storyteller Susan Price.
Chapter One
16th Side: A Robbery
From out of the surrounding hills came a ringing silence that was only deepened by the plodding of the pack ponies' hooves on the turf and the flirting of their tails against their sides. Above, the sky was a clear pale blue, but the breeze was strong.
There were four members of the Geological Survey Team: Malc, Tim, Dave and Caro. They'd left the 21st that morning at eight, coming through the Tube to the 16th, where the plan was to spend four days. None of them had ever been so far from home before, and they often looked back at the Tube. It was their only way back.
It was when they lost sight of the Tube among the folds of the hills that trouble arrived.
Three horses, with riders, picked their way down the hillside toward them. The horses were all black and thickset and shaggy, with manes and tails hanging almost to the ground. The riders' helmets had been blackened with soot and grease, to keep them from rust, or covered with sheepskin ...
Philip Pullman
Enthralling...A thunderous, driving, unstoppable yarn.
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