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738 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 18, 2004
No matter what the fanaticism, Inrithi, Consult, or even Mandate, the consequences are the same: men die or suffer.But the war and battles serve merely as a backdrop for the path of our four major characters: Khellus, Aka, Esmenet, and Cnaiür. To me the most fascinating was Khellus, who continues his quest to find his father. He has decided the only way to get to his father, who resides in the Holy City that is the target of the Holy War, is to subvert the Holy War to his own ends. Yes, his plan is basically to hijack a 150,000+ man army and an entire school of sorcery from the most powerful nobles and sorcerers in the land. Talk about a ballsy move. But he has a plan and the abilities to pull it off because he understands what moves men's souls. He sees how the history and culture of the people of the Three Seas can be manipulated by him to further his influence over everyone from slave to Great Name alike. It is a sight to behold and, frankly, sort of terrifying. Keep in mind I described him in my review of the first book as a sociopath and what we learn about his upbringing as a Dûnyain only reinforces how alien these humans have become. More on the Dûnyain and their philosophy in my review of the last book in the series because there is a lot to dig in to.
Vengeance roamed the halls of the compound - like a God. And he sang his song with a beast's blind fury, parting wall from foundation, blowing ceiling into sky, as though the works of man were things of sand.What the sorcery of this world lacks in subtlety it more than makes up for in shear pants crapping power.
“Fate was but one more world-born subterfuge, another lie men used to give meaning to their abject helplessness.”
“No decision is so fine as to not bind us to its consequences. No consequence is so unexpected as to absolve us of our decisions. Not even death.”
“Doubt set men free. Doubt, not truth! Beliefs were the foundation of actions. Those who believed without doubting acted without thinking. And those who acted without thinking were enslaved.”