Crown of Stars (series)

Crown of Stars is a series of epic fantasy novels by American author Alis A. Rasmussen, under the pen-name Kate Elliott. The series consists of seven novels.

Novels
Novels in the series are:
 * King's Dragon (1997)
 * Prince of Dogs (1998)
 * The Burning Stone (1999)
 * Child of Flame (2000)
 * The Gathering Storm (2003)
 * In the Ruins (2005)
 * Crown of Stars (2006)

Storyline overview
Crown of Stars is set in Novaria, a continent inspired by medieval Europe. Over the course of the novels it is revealed that 2,700 years prior to the present a war erupted between humanity and a race of elf-like beings called the Ashioi. Human sorcerers were able to banish the Ashioi homeland to another plane of existence, but in doing so unleashed a vast cataclysm upon the world that devastated much of humankind. Humanity recovered, initially under the rule of the mighty Dariyan Empire, and later under its successor states, guided by the wisdom of the Daisanite Church (which is based on Christianity).

The story opens with the kingdoms of Wender and Varre, unified under the rule of King Henry, threatened by both external and internal threats. Sabella, Henry's elder half-sister, is fomenting rebellion against his rule in Varre, whilst the inhuman Eika have invaded from the north, raiding the north coast and threatening the city of Gent. In King Henry's court there is intrigue brewing as Henry has not chosen an heir from his three legitimate children, and it is well known that he favours his bastard son Sanglant, who by the law cannot inherit the throne.

The series follows the fortunes of two young people, Alain and Liath, as they are drawn into this web of intrigue, eventually learning that the banished Ashioi homeland is being drawn back to Earth, but its return will spark a cataclysm as great as the one that accompanied its departure.

Historical parallels
Crown of Stars is heavily influenced by real history, particularly that of Europe in the early medieval period. In an interview Kate Elliott acknowledged that many of the cultures in her world are drawn directly from real-world sources:
 * Alba is Britain
 * Salia is France
 * Varre corresponds to The Low Countries
 * Wendar is Germany
 * North Mark is Denmark
 * Eikaland corresponds to Norway and Sweden
 * Polenie is Poland
 * Salavii are the Slavs
 * Austra corresponds to Austria
 * Ungria corresponds to Hungary
 * Karrone is Switzerland
 * Darre is Rome, while Aosta is not the city but the whole of Italy
 * Arethousa is Byzantium
 * Quman represents assorted steppe tribes (Tartars etc.) or the Golden Horde
 * Hessi merchants are a parallel of Jewish traders
 * Ashioi correspond to the Aztecs
 * Kartiako is Carthage
 * Jinna is Persia
 * Andalla is Iberia

Origins
Elliott had long been a major fan of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and had planned to write a similar long epic fantasy, but decided to do something a bit different first by writing science fiction, most successfully in the 'Jaran universe. During this time she planned her epic fantasy storyline and drew on real-life history for inspiration. After deciding to take a break from the Jaran series, she began work on Crown of Stars.

The series was originally envisaged as a trilogy, with a sequel trilogy to follow. This expanded to four volumes, and then Elliott chose to split the fourth volume in two after difficulties emerged in the writing process. The series then expanded to six volumes. However, after completion of the sixth volume the publishers decided that at 430,000 words it was too large to be published in one volume, so it was split into two books published four months apart. Thus the series became seven books long.