The past fifteen years have not been kind to Celebre, the greatest city on the Florengian face of a dodecahedral world. Its walls have been breached and its Doge humiliated by the evil Bloodlord Stralg; all four of its heirs kidnapped and taken over the Edge to Vigaelia; its Dogaressa forcibly impregnated by Stralg and--when her husband's health begins to fail--left to rule over a city teeming with Stralg's troops. And if you think Stralg is bad, wait until you meet his sister Saltaja, a fanatic who sees no human cost as too great to keep the Hrag dynasty in power and her goddess--evil Xaran, the Mother of Lies--appeased.

But there are a few great hopes for the future of the city: the Mutineer, Marno Cavotti, who will not stand to see his hometown destroyed and is massing a powerful liberation movement mere inches beyond Stralg's grasp. And the four heirs of Celebre--each with god-given expertise in their respective fields of artistry, combat, wisdom, or death--are wending their way back over the Edge to their birthplace. Of course, even as Marno and the Celebre children are working towards the common goal ofdefeating the Hrags, they're all painfully aware that once that hurdle is crossed only one of them can wind up on the throne.

Continuing the storyline set out inChildren of Chaos,Mother of Lies is a fierce, kinetic romp that will keep readers guessing until the last blow is dealt.

Originally from Scotland, Dave Duncan has lived all his adult life in Western Canada, having enjoyed a long career as a petroleum geologist before taking up writing. Since discovering that imaginary worlds are more satisfying than the real one, he has published more than forty-five novels, mostly in the fantasy genre, but also young adult, science fiction, and historical. He has at times been Sarah B. Franklin (but only for literary purposes) and Ken Hood (which is short for “D’ye Ken Whodunit?”)
His most successful works have been fantasy series: The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word and its sequel, A Handful of Men, and six books about The King’s Blades.
He and Janet were married in 1959. They have one son and two daughters, who in

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"Duncan's storytelling has never been better [than] in this superb fantasy.... How the children of Celebre reunite makes for a captivating, adventure-filled story." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) onChildren of Chaos "The estimable Duncan's mad plots, dark intrigues, vivid cast and lashings of magic leave many engrossing mysteries to be elucidated in volume two."  --Kirkus Reviews on Children of Chaos
 
"This odd group of siblings...behave nothing at all like the standard protagonists of epic fantasy but a great deal like real people thrust into Interesting Times. . . . Duncan, that wily devil, has done it again!"  --Locus on Children of Chaos
 
"Dave Duncan produces excellent work in book after book, yet never gains the attention he deserves. This is a fun book but with more substance than most light fantasy. . . . Another solid entry by a writer who deserves a wider audience."  --SFReview on Children of Chaos