If you’ve been sitting and waiting for that overwhelming fantasy novel that you can’t stop reading for ten hours straight, you found it. The story is one of a search for fabled treasure, like El Dorado, or like the Spice of Arrakis. Here, the treasure consists of a mother lode of, not gold, but istariol, the rare mineral that fuels sorcery and he who controls the Istariol has the keys to overthrowing the yoke of the Bolgravian Empire. To get to the treasure, rebel and sorcerer Raythe Vyre (who has been hiding in plain sight as a healer named Dash Cowl with a teenage daughter) must band together a motley crew of misfits, mercenaries, and treasure-seeking townfolk and trek past the map’s edge to territory not explored in thousands of years.

This crew, which is like the Fellowship of the Ring traveling under the Misty Mountains, numbers, however, not nine, but some three hundred, including women, children, and the like and rides not just on horseback, but on a line of wagons over impassable caverns, over glaciers, over mighty rivers, and set upon by all manner of barbarians, beasts, and giant birds. But, none of these things are as fearsome to the group as the mighty arm of the Belgravian Empire, among which are not merely trained soldiers, but sorcerers aplenty and endless cannons and small firearms. And, Raythe is not only a sorcerer, but a failed revolutionary and the most wanted man in all the world and nothing will stop the Empire in its relentless and unending search for his head.

Everything about this story felt real and authentic and believable from the magic which develops and is difficult to control to the divisions among the troop of 300, with the mercenaries barely holding on to civilized behavior among the women and children and bridling against Raythe’s authority. Yet, he needs them. His magic alone is not powerful enough to protect all these people from the Empire and the mercenaries cannot simply toss him aside and still tramp through the impregnable fortresses of the north and fight the istariol without him. This conflict between the groups traveling together rears itself over and over again with confrontations occurring at the most inopportune times.

Raythe is also vulnerable in regards to his fifteen-year-old daughter, Zar, who is maturing a bit too fast for her father’s taste what with all these strapping young lads about. Zar is his kryptonite. She is all he has left to care for what with his ex-wife having turned on him in favor of the Empire, his castle and titles ripped away, and his poster raised at every point in the Empire with every sharp eye on the watch for him. Zar, though, may surprise everyone with what she is capable of, that is, if Raythe ever has time to teach her how to control her powers.

The merry band marching through mountains and glaciers is also filled with other unforgettable characters such as a character like Wolverine, Vidar, who is part man, part wild beast. Kemara Solus is a multi-faceted character, a failed sorceress, steeped in church teachings, but whose powers are only hinted at in the beginning of the book. Her face-offs with other characters in the troop nearly grind the march to a stop. There are many other hunters, mercanaries, initiates, priests, and more among the large group Raythe is secretly (or as secretly as one can lead a 300-person wagon train through the mountains) to the treasure which they plan to spend a year mining before marching across the Empire, freeing the downtrodden peoples.

Best of all (or worst of all if you are impatient), this is the starting point for a three-volume trilogy which only promises to be more and more exciting and more and more amazing. A hearty thumbs-up for this novel (which will keep you up all night) and its great characterizations, history, and magic system. Bring on the next volume.

This was a fun read! I recommend it to anyone looking for a new fantasy. The world-building was on point, the characters felt like real people, and the plot was articulated with elegance and craft,

This is a pretty standard fantasy set up. A found family-ish group of rebels, wanted by an oppressive and unwaveringly evil empire set out on a journey against the odds to restore peace and overthrow their oppressors. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but the story doesn't really bring anything new or interesting enough in terms of narrative, characters, or world-building to make this an engaging read.

There are some interesting twists, but they are sort of overshadowed by the otherwise predictable and very standard plot.

Some of the narrative choices don't make sense to me. Dash has a super secret mission and his next step is having the barman gather everyone so he can ask them to join him. I feel like there are better ways to recruit than to just hope and pray no one rats them out. Plus, I cannot wrap my mind around how he just immediately reveals his real identity to all of them, a secret that he has closely guarded for years to protect himself and his daughter. But he sees a bunch of outlaws and outcasts who have yet to agree to embarking on this journey with him and goes "yes... this is the right time to unmask myself... a man with a massive bounty on my head..." Also, when Kemara goes up to a woman who is very possibly losing her pregnancy, she greets her with "what's up?" like there must have been other dialogue options here, right???

There is also some diversity in terms of sexuality although nothing ever happens in terms of relationships or (except for one character) actually confirming their sexual preference. Varahana is hinted to be bisexual (she says "I do like a good red", referring to red-headed Kemara, but we never get any more development on that note). There is also one gay man, Jesco, who is just overtly sexual all the time. That is literally his only personality trait.

I'm clearly in the minority of reviews since this book has earned high ratings so far, but this felt kind of cheesy to me....

Great book by Hair! The plot was fast paced and enjoyed the depth Hair uses in creating the story. I look forward to the sequel.

It’s rare that a cover alone made me want to pick this up, but I’m glad I went with my gut, as this one was a lot of a fun. Three hundred ne’er-do-wells attempt to escape the Empire and go seek riches in uncharted lands. The expedition is led by a criminal rebel and his daughter, and they must team up with mercenaries, hunters, and an entire town of hard-pressed refugees as they trek hundreds of miles toward an unproven goal. And the Empire — and their endless resources of sorcerers and soldiers — are hot on their trail.

One thing that bothered me a bit was a lead female character who's actions and reactions were almost entirely based on male acceptance or rejection. She was either stalked--which, sure, awful--but when she wasn't, she was building a relationship with another man, and hinting at a future love triangle with another man, and nearly all her inner dialogue was about whether to trust or mistrust a man. And then she bonds with an ancient, spiritual male being that she somehow unquestionably trusts right off the bat. It was uneven and it also didn't allow for her as much agency as I was hoping, as she seemed to be one of the most interesting characters.

Another interesting character -- probably the second most interesting one after the character mentioned above -- got fridged. This just served to move the plot forward to make the murderer 'more evil' and barely a few lines acknowledged their death before chugging along with the plot, their purpose served. This person was victimized in more ways than one, and it just seemed to want to elicit a "hey, what a jerk!" emotion from the perpretrators instead of seeing the world through this person's eyes. A huge waste of potential and a trope I didn't like to see.

The story had imaginative magic and lore, but was a bit slow in some sections, yet had a strong and exciting ending. A decent start to what could be a very entertaining series if some of the characters could be a little more balanced and treated a bit more fairly.

3.5 / 5