The Novice

The Wizard's Sign trilogy explores what it means to be a human being whose life is expected to matter?

In Part One: Ghorlund, a fourteen-year-old farm boy with the odd but prophetic name, Hairpin, finds himself called through a prediction in lore to begin a dangerous quest. He and his widowed father are pulled from their sheltered existence to go to Ghorlund, the vast, walled capital of Ghormanswold. There they learn Hairpin must help save the World of Things-but from what? The ancient Omen of the Wizard Elderon foretells the imminent appearance of the one who will serve as an agent of the Tenth Wizard. But who? Hairpin must find out what it all means, but the Omen's prophecy carries a threat.

Hairpin hopes his quest will lead to magic and glory, but instead he is rapidly hurtled against powerful forces seeking to keep the Omen from fulfillment. Hairpin and his new companions, Curtain and Wheel, begin to uncover the faint outlines of a terrible, dark mystery. From the origins of the World of Things, some unimaginable, secret horror is still weaving threads of fear and violence. Challenging him with both his first love and with life-threatening danger, the quest leads Hairpin to discover not magic-but himself.

In Part Two: The Novice, Hairpin's evolving world takes shape. He begins training under his mentor, Dibble, only to have everything around him start to unravel. An argument, a death and an Outlander rebellion leave him to struggle through three years of uncertainty before a direction begins to pull him forward. He meets the wizard at last only to find his emerging life, once more, disintegrates around him. He can return to the capital and a long-hoped-for reunion with Curtain and Wheel, but will it be the end of everything he has ever known? The awaiting answer carries him forward into Part Three: The Well of Voices where the unraveling of an ancient plot brings hope for the transformation of the World of Things.