Childe Rolande

Childe Rolande - The Myth and the Legend

Childe Rolande, Hermaphrodite and Freak, is born into the fiercely matriarchal society of Alba at a time when the fabric of the nation is crumbling.

Rolande fulfils all the technical requirements of an ancient Prophesy which promises that one day a 'Redeemer' will arise who will be 'the one and the both', and who will sweep away the age-old tyranny of Alba's female rulers to 'bind the nation together in peace'.

The hopes and dreams of Alba's downtrodden males are centred on this mystical being, whose eyes hold the wisdom of the ages and who can reputedly change into an eagle at will.

Can Rolande live up to their expectations, wrest the antlered throne from the Warlord of the Clans, drive the evil Sorceress, Fergael from her stronghold in the Dark Tower, and unite the polarised Kingdom?

"The book is written cleverly in the first person so Lee doesn't have to equate the principal player with his/her gender. This also allows Lee to step out of the book's politics and, in the Land of Alba, show that a kingdom ruled by any one part of the population can condemn the other elements to slavery. Childe Rolande also draws on poetic influences, particularly on Byron's poem 'Childe Rolande to the dark tower came'... In this book, however, there are enough poetic parallels to play that wonderful game so beloved of Umberto Eco, hunt the allusion. It's a game that, if well played, will pay off for any lover of the fantasy genres and those interested in the politics of humanity, as pressed through the freedom of fantasy."

John Gilbert - Fear Magazine.

Samantha Lee is a graduate of the Central School of Speech and Drama and began writing while she was still a professional performer. Her prolific and diverse output includes novels in the horror and dark fantasy genres, self-development and exercise books, short stories, travel articles, magazine columns, radio programmes, TV series, movie screenplays, literary criticism and poetry. Of her 13 books to date, 6 feature in Scolastic's best selling Point Horror imprint. Her short fiction has appeared in everything from the Pan Book of Horror Stories to the award winning Fantasy Tales. Ironically though, she will probably be best remembered for writing the iconic children's TV programme Rainbow. Her work has been translated into French, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, German, Croatian, Greek and Chinese. She is currently writing the sequel to Childe Rolande.