It seems that to write fantasy now, you have to write a 12-book saga, or at the very least a trilogy. So, it's refreshing every now and then to find a self-contained one volume tale. Especially one as well-written as this one.What originally drew me to this book was the fact that I wouldn't have to wait a year to find out what happened next. What kept me reading it was Christian's style and flair for both character and detail.
Inya is a proud sorceress, secure in her superiority over an ambitious young man who comes seeking her training. The would-be apprentice leaves Inya's tower through a dimensional gate, and he returns a changed man, with an army at his back. He strips once-proud Inya of her powers and imprisons her as he plots to take over the world she has protected for years.
The thing I liked about this story is the change that takes place in the main character. At the beginning she's proud and aloof, but when Kar Kalim returns, suddenly she's helpless and scared. Though she clings to as much of her pride as possible, she comes out of the ordeal a changed woman.
It's a well-told, action-packed story, with a very real moral at the heart.