“The pirate laughed. Arik shoved down his own sand-mask. Invelmari steel fell. Pirate blood sprayed the dunes, and the desert drank without reluctance.”

This quote stayed with me for the rest of the book and I went back to it a few times. It is a taste of the atmosphere created by Bayen. She can convey a world of meaning with short sentences and simple words.

Don’t let the size of the book scare you! I devoured its 660 pages with barely a pause to breathe, completely absorbed by the characters and their conflicts. Like many epic fantasy stories, this is the tale of a journey. Three friends find themselves exiled from their home, hunted and betrayed, and as they flee across the unforgiving desert of Derinda, they will learn about many secrets and will face many dangers. But they will also find friendship.

A gifted storyteller, Bayen weaves so many threads that you think she cannot possibly bring it all together in one book, but you are mistaken. Every bit has its place. All pieces of the jigsaw fall seamlessly and suddenly everything is right in front of your eyes!

The story is told mainly from the point of view of the three friends – Klaus, Arik and Verdi. While they share a common reason to be travelling together, each has their own personal conflicts to deal with and as their journey becomes ever more fraught with danger and with riddles to be solved, their own arc blossoms before the reader’s eyes. Their masks, doubts and hopes are peeled away, allowing the reader to dive deep into their characters and motivations. Bayen went beyond giving her characters flesh – she gave them a soul.

The settings are as vivid as the amazing illustrations and maps in this book. You can feel every grain of sand, the sharpness of the wind, the buzz in a tavern or the flurry of activity in a market.

Last, but not least, I cannot forget to mention the adorable mini-beasts who are full-characters in their own right and make the story that much richer with their presence!

This is a must-have for any fantasy bookshelf. Fans of epic fantasy will not be disappointed and will probably feel like me: with a severe book hangover!

Looking forward to reading the next instalment in this incredible series.