Description:

The Forelands have enjoyed relative peace in the nine hundred years since the Qirsi Wars, until the stability of the seven kingdoms is shaken by the brutal murder of Lady Brienne of Kentigern, newly betrothed to Lord Tavis of Curgh. Tavis, who is blamed for the crime, has escaped the dungeons of Kentigern and searches the Forelands for his love's killer. But already the Qirsi conspirators who murdered Brienne have taken their campaign of violence and deception to Aneira, Eibithar's hated neighbor, plunging that kingdom into turmoil. Now Tavis's search for redemption takes him into the stronghold of his realm's most bitter enemy.

For the first time in nine centuries, war threatens to engulf all the Forelands. And there are whispers of a new Qirsi threat. A Weaver, they say, is behind the deaths, the betrayals. Nobles who have depended on Qirsi ministers suddenly fear those they have trusted.

If the renegade Qirsi are indeed led by a Weaver, can this powerful sorcerer be found before he conquers the Forelands? And who wields magic potent enough to stop him?

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From Publishers Weekly

Turmoil and deception propel Coe's second entry in his Winds of the Forelands tetralogy, maintaining the momentum of its predecessor, Rules of Ascension (2002). In the feudal world of the Forelands, Qirsi ministers directed by the Weaver use assassination to foment distrust and chaos among the ruling houses of the various kingdoms. A few nobles, aided by Qirsi mages still loyal to their masters, try to stop what they call the "Conspiracy" to make the subservient Qirsi the rulers of the Forelands. The author deftly manages a multistrand plot full of political intrigue that never flags despite the wealth of engrossing detail. A large cast of characters both old and new enliven the sword and sorcery. Readers who go for good clean fantasy fun will eagerly await the next installment. FYI: In 1999, Coe won the William C. Crawford Award for Best First Fantasy or Fantasy Series for his LonTobyn trilogy.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In the second Winds of the Forelands novel, disorder increases in the Forelands, and it is more than a matter of petty squabbles. Conspirators among the Qirsi, whose sorcerous gifts just fuel the distaste and fear with which they are viewed, have murdered several potentates. The Qirsi, a people of distinctive appearance, are by no means united against humans, however, and several Qirsi hold important posts in the realm of the Forelands. But each day, murder, distrust, and fear bring the kingdom closer to civil war, and bind the hands of those who want to prevent it. Both action and the cast loom large; the members of the latter are well drawn; and Forelands politics are as complex as any tracked by the daily media, which slows the pace despite Coe's real narrative gifts. This book maintains the intelligence and complexity of Rules of Ascension [BKL My 1 02], and since many of the conflicts in it had their roots in Rules, readers who haven't read that book should consider backtracking. Roland Green
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