June 28, 1993
Norton's first solo contribution to the Trillium series adopts a slower pace and more thoughtful tone than did Black Trillium (written with Marion Zimmer Bradley and Julian May) and Blood Trillium (by May alone). The land of Ruwenda is once again endangered by the legacy of the ancient Vanished Ones, and only Kadiya, Seeker-Warrior, one of three daughters of the Black Trillium, is in a position to act. In the Place of Learning, Kadiya learns from the seers of Ruwenda's aboriginal Oddlings that a fearsome blight will fall across the land. With several Oddling friends she tracks an ancient disease carrier to a place where she can move between worlds; she finds the Vanished Ones, who removed themselves after fratricidal warfare eons ago and who may hold the secret of Ruwenda's salvation. Golden Trillium shares the characters of the earlier Trillium tales, but does not build on earlier plots. Her depictions of aboriginal life, with its dedication to nature, and of the emotional growth of a strong yet uncertain and lonely woman are finely wrought.