The Crystal Palace (novel)

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**The Crystal Palace**

First edition cover, November 1988
Author	Phyllis Eisenstein
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Book of Elementals
Genre(s)	Fantasy
Publisher	Signet
Released	November 1988
Media Type	Print
Pages	382 (paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0451156781 (paperback) ISBN 1892065959 (omnibus)
Preceded by	Sorcerer's Son
Followed by	The City in Stone

The Crystal Palace, published in 1988, is the second novel in the Book of Elementals series by Phyllis Eisenstein, the first novel of which was released in 1979 and the third of which is still being written. It was published by Signet originally and is now available as part of a 2002 omnibus which also includes the first book in the series, Sorcerer's Son.

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Sorcerer Cray Ormoru and his friend, the seer Feldar Sepwin, craft a enchanted mirror that allows whoever gazes upon it to see their heart's desire. For Cray himself, the mirror remains blank for many years, until one day he sees in it the image of a young girl. With no idea of who she is, he watches the girl transform into a lovely woman over the years, and Cray realises that he is destinied to find her. When he does, he learns that this is Aliza, a sorceress who lives in a crystal palace which is partly within the demon realm and who is dedicated solely to the study of her craft.

Cray finds Aliza to be a skilled young sorceress, but also cold, aloof, and entirely focused on sorcery. Cray encourages her to take an interest in the outside world and forms a budding friendship. However, this friendship is strongly discouraged by Aliza's sorceror grandfather, Everand. Despite Everand's disapproval, Aliza and Cray travel to the demon realm and also to the home of Cray's sorceress mother. During this latter journey Aliza lookes into the mirror of heart's desire and causes it to shatter. This causes some initial confusion, but it is quickly revealed this is because Aliza's soul has been stolen from her.

Ultimately her grandfather Everand shown to be a villain of the worst degree. He uses Aliza's soul and his capture of Feldar as leverage to demand Aliza and Cray's obedience. However Cray rallies his allies from the demon realm in order to confront and defeat Everand and free Aliza's soul. With her soul freed, Cray and Aliza realise their love for each other.