From Publishers Weekly
Despite a few brief, shining moments, Cherryh's (Foreigner) new fantasy novel (her latest SF novel is reviewed below) proves an overwrought concoction. After a moderately interesting foray involving Mauryl, the aging wizard who conjures a "Shaping" named Tristen, the meandering of the nearly empty-headed Shaping takes center stage for far too long. Tristen sets off upon a quest knowing neither who he is nor what he seeks. Fortuitous happenings eventually bring him to Cefwyn, a prince in line to rule the land, and to Cefwyn's wizard, Emuin, himself a former student of Mauryl's. (The villains here are of two types: nebulously motivated men and erotically minded women.) A series of escapades involving prosaically presented political machinations leads to an inevitable final battle?and to the likelihood of a sequel. Several plot threads, such as Tristen's similarity to a golem and an invocation of the "Thirty-Eight," indicate that Cherryh is leaning on texts of Jewish mysticism here, but it's unlikely that even the most diligent of kabbalists would have the patience to wade through this substandard work. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Midwest Book Review
I have to admit that, until now, I have never read any of C. J. Cherryh's work. A sad oversight on my part and one that I intend to remedy. After reading just one page it was easy for me to see why Cherryh had won three Hugo awards. I fully expect her to win many more inthe future. While there are many good authors inthe field of fantasy and science fiction it is rare to find one with such a powerful grasp of the english language, or one whose skill as a world builder could set her so far above the rest of us.


Book Description

Deep in an abandoned, shattered castle, an old man of the Old Magic muttered almost forgotten words. His purpose -- to create out of the insubstance of the air, from a shimmering of light and a fluttering of shadows. that most wonderous of spells, a Shaping. A Shaping in the form of a, young man who will be sent east on the road the old was to old to travel. To right the wrongs of a long-forgotten wizard war, and call new wars into being. Here is the long-awaited major new novel from one of the brightest stars in the fantasy and science fiction firmament.C.J.Cherryh's haunting story of the wizard Mauryl, kingmaker for a thousand years of Men, and Tristen, fated to sow distrust between a prince and his father being. A tale as deep as legend and a intimate as love, it tells of a battle beyond Time, in which all Destiny turns on the wheel of an old man's ambition, a young man's innocence, and the unkept promised of a king to come.


Download Description

Deep in an abandoned, shattered castle, an old man of the Old Magic muttered almost forgotten words. His purpose -- to create out of the insubstance of the air, from a shimmering of light and a fluttering of shadows. that most wonderous of spells, a Shaping. A Shaping in the form of a, young man who will be sent east on the road the old was to old to travel. To right the wrongs of a long-forgotten wizard war, and call new wars into being. Here is the long-awaited major new novel from one of the brightest stars in the fantasy and science fiction firmament.C.J.Cherryh's haunting story of the wizard Mauryl, kingmaker for a thousand years of Men, and Tristen, fated to sow distrust between a prince and his father being. A tale as deep as legend and a intimate as love, it tells of a battle beyond Time, in which all Destiny turns on the wheel of an old man's ambition, a young man's innocence, and the unkept promised of a king to come.


About the Author
C.J. Cherryth is a four-time winner of the coveted Hugo Award and is one of today's best-selling and most critically acclaimed writers of fantasy and science ficion. She is the author of more than forty novels. Author Home: Spokane, Washington.

FROM OUR EDITORS

From the three-time Hugo Award-winner comes this "high fantasy" of the wizard Mauryl, kingmaker for a thousand years, and his shaping of a young man who would be king--if only the fates and wizard wars would let him.

ANNOTATION

A tale as deep as legend and as intimate as love, it tells of a battle beyond Time, in which all Destiny turns on the wheel of an old man's ambition, a young man's innocence, and the unkept promise of a king to come. This is the long-awaited major new novel from one of the brightest stars in the fantasy and science fiction firmament.

FROM THE PUBLISHER