Last Guardian of Everness is a fantasy novel by John C. Wright (the author's first such novel, having been written before The Golden Age

The Golden Age (John C. Wright novel)

The Golden Age is a science fiction trilogy by the American writer John C. Wright. It consists of three books, The Golden Age, The Phoenix Exultant and The Golden Transcendence.-Plot introduction:...

). It has a sequel, Mists of Everness

Mists of Everness

Mists of Everness is John C. Wright's sequel to his novel Last Guardian of Everness, published in 2005, continuing the harrowing adventures of Raven, Wendy, Lemuel, Peter, and Galen. We learn here that to save the world from the evil tyrant Morningstar , they must hand it over to the "good" tyrant...

.

Overview

The novel tells the tale of Raven, son of Raven, who bargains with a necromancer, Koschei

Koschei

In Slavic folklore, Koschei is an archetypal male antagonist, described mainly as abducting the hero's wife. None of the existing tales actually describes his appearance, though in book illustrations, cartoons and cinema he has been most frequently represented as a very old and ugly-looking man...

 the Deathless, to save the life of his pretty young wife Wendy, who is in the terminal ward of the hospital. The price is that Raven must kill an innocent stranger. The stranger selected is Galen Waylock, the youngest and last watchman of an order of guardians protecting mankind from a supernatural invasion through the Gates of Greater Slumber. The conceit is that man has been separated from the world of dreams in order to preserve him: the fairies and gods remembered in myth yearn to re-establish their old rule.

The story draws on varied mythological sources. Koschei

Koschei

In Slavic folklore, Koschei is an archetypal male antagonist, described mainly as abducting the hero's wife. None of the existing tales actually describes his appearance, though in book illustrations, cartoons and cinema he has been most frequently represented as a very old and ugly-looking man...

 (or Koschey) the Deathless is from Russian folk tales; the Selkie

Selkie

Selkies are mythological creatures that are found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish folklore....

 are from Irish lore, the Kelpie

Kelpie

The kelpie is a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland; the name may be from Scottish Gaelic cailpeach or colpach "heifer, colt".-Description and behaviour:...

, Scottish; Oberon, Titania, and Merlin the Magician, English. The giants Surtvitnir and Bergelmir

Bergelmir

In Norse mythology, Bergelmir is a frost giant, the son of giant Þrúðgelmir and the grandson of Ymir , the first frost giant, according to stanza 29 of the poem Vafthrudnismal from the Poetic Edda:...

 are Norse. The angels and fallen angels in the story answer either to their Christian or pagan names: The Archangel Uriel

Uriel

Uriel is one of the archangels of post-Exilic Rabbinic tradition, and also of certain Christian traditions...

, for example, is also called Hyperion

Hyperion (mythology)

Hyperion was one of the twelve Titans of Ancient Greece, the sons and daughters of Gaia and Ouranos , which were later supplanted by the Olympians. He was the brother of Cronus. He was also the lord of light, and the Titan of the east...

, and Apollo

Apollo

Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...

the Destroyer.