Diamond throne (HarperCollins Publishers)

Book One of the classic ELENIUM series introducing the Pandion Knight Sparhawk and his horse Faron, a sleeping queen, and a jewel that can save her...After a long spell of exile, Sparhawk, Pandion Knight and the Queen's champion, returns to his native land to find it overrun with evil and intrigue - and his young Queen grievously ill. Indeed, Ehlana lies magically entombed within a block of crystal, doomed to die unless a cure can be found within a year. But as Sparhawk and his allies - who include Sephrenia, the ageless sorceress, and Flute, the strange and powerful girl-child - seek to save Ehlana and the land, they discover that the evil is even greater and more pervasive than they feared...Truly a gem of epic fantasy from the modern master of the genre, THE DIAMOND THRONE is a must for Eddings fans - and an excellent introduction for those who have yet to discover the delights of his work.