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Five Novels of Magic Rings and Ancient Legends

All these titles are no longer in print but available (in German) as e-books from Amazon, Beam, Thalia, Weltbild and other internet sales platforms.
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Children of the Nibelungs (Die Kinder der Nibelungen)

The Otherworld Trilogy, Volume One

When Siggi, Gunhild and Hagen see something golden blinking from the depths of an ancient well, they would never have suspected that they have found the legendary Rng of the Nibelungs. The Ring leads them into the realm of the old Norse gods. But the curse of the Ring is still at work. Old hate brings forth new evil. Only if the three friends learn to trust each other, they may find their way back into their own world. For if hate prevails, they, too, shall perish in the final Twilight of the Gods ...

A post-mythological fantasy - a story set in a world where the old myths are a matter of the past but still have an effect on the present. Written for young readers, aged 12+ (and discerning adults as well). It is also the first novel I wrote, even if it was published second. Co-authored with Horst Hermann Von Allwörden, who is not named on the cover but has participated in the conception and writing to a large extent.
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The Rings of Power (Die Ringe der Macht)

The Elderland Saga, Volume One.

In a remote corner of the Middle Realms lies Elderland, home of the peaceful Ffolk. The Ffolksmen are proud of their history, and in the Ffolksmuseum at Aldswick many strange and curious artefacts of the past are preserved. But when the shadows of the past are gathering, and an ancient peril, long contained, breaks loose upon the world, forgotten legends come to light and old magic comes alive again. The fate of the Empire of Man weights heavily on a small fellowship of friends who set out on a perilous journey to the end and the beginning of time ...

This novel started out as an attempt to write a tale for all those who had read »The Hobbit« and »The Lord of the Rings« and wanted more of the same - long before novels about Elves, Dwarfs and Orcs became as common as muck. It was written with passion, and commitment, and as an experiment of putting some ideas about the way Tolkien's mind worked into practice. It even includes songs and poems in various meters. And still, in the course of the telling, it became a story of its own, with some surprises even the authors hadn't anticipated. To what extent we succeeded, is left to the reader's judgment.
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Children of Erin (Die Kinder von Erin)

The Otherworld Trilogy, Volume Two.

Gunhild, her brother Siggi, and their English friend Hagen are on vacation at an Irish manor. One night, a huge monster turns up in their room. But is is not just a nightmare. The monster is real. Gunhild and Hagen take to their heels and stumble right away into the magical world of Irish legend. Siggi, left behind, is sure to follow ...

he mythology of Ireland comprises several story cycles from myth and legend to fairy-story. I have tried to tell a coherent and cohesive tale by looking for a common motive behind these interrelated traditions. My research came up with some astounding results. Would you believe, for instance, that there are traditional colours for the wind's twelve quarters? (And yes, they actually turn up in the novel.) I also had to keep track of who was where at a given time and how long it would take to travel from A to B. In the end, the story became so convoluted and dark and desperate that I had to devise a happy ending. My favourite book among my own novels.
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The Lords of Time (Die Herren der Zeit)

The Elderland Saga, Volume Two.

The final battle has been fought, the forces of good have prevailed, the dark enemy has been defeated. Now Kimberon Veit, as a representative of the Ffolk, sets out on a journey to witness the crowning of the King in the distant capital of Magna Aureolis. Mist rises from the fens – and suddenly, everything has changed. In the Middle Realms, the Dark Empire rules supreme. Elves and Dwarfs have withdrawn from the world, and the Folk of Elderland is no more than a legend, a bedside story told to children. But Kim won't abandon hope and embarks on a perilous journey through the shadows of time. Little does he know that the plain ring he wears on his finger holds the key to the present, the past and the future ...

After finishing this book, I took a solemn oath that this should be the last time travel story I ever tried. There are so many things to be taken into account and many snares for the unwary author. On the other hand, I found some tidy solutions to problems arising from the first novel which I hadn't even been aware of while writing and everything considered, I think I carried it off pretty well, after all. As an aside, the novel makes use of Latin as the idiom of scholars, a language I am still able to read and write, more or less - but readers shouldn't worry since all phrases are translated in the inevitable appendix.
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Children of Avalon (Die Kinder von Avalon)

The Otherworld Trilogy, Volume Three.

When an ancient chalice is stolen from a museum, Hagen and his German friends, Siggi and Gunhild are transported by magic to the legendary country of Prydain. There they learn that on the Isle of Avalon the Sleeping King is dying. Only the missing cup, known as the Grail, may heal his wounds. The quest for the Grail leads the three children to the end of the world - and beyond ...

The mythology of Wales is even more complex than its Irish counterpart - even disregarding the seemingly unpronounceable Welsh names. The background of the novel ranges from Celtic myths to the legends of King Arthur and the Round Table, involving several incarnations and transformations. Hopefully, the result makes at least some sense. The moral of the story is, in a nutshell, that men have to emancipate themselves from their gods and myths. Of the three novels in the trilogy, this was the only one chosen for a book club edition in Germany, although I suspect that this may have been partly due to its title.