Caitlin Brennan, Song of Unmaking

Song of Unmaking

Caitlin Brennan

Luna, Oct 2005, $13.95, 400 pp.

ISBN 037382323

Euan Rohe, a Callellani barbarian almost brought the Empire and the Emperor to its knees during the Great Dance. Valeria, a rider of the wild stallions who are gods made flesh, finished the Dance with her own and seven other stallions and for a time war was averted. Valeria returns to the mountain for more training while Euan escapes to his homeland and allies himself with Gothard, the baseborn son of the Emperor who wants to Unmake his father's empire.

War is coming and the Emperor, his warriors and his mages are at the border waiting for the right time to strike out at their enemy. Gothard has a stone that has the power to Unmake once he knows how to use it. Valeria and her lover Kerrick, with their stallion gods travel to the battleground to stop Gothard before he starts using the stone's power to crush the Emperor's forces. Partners in love and battle Kerrick and Valeria perform a Dance unlike any dance the stallions performed, one that will determine the fate of the Empire.

This is the second book in this magnificent romantic fantasy series (See THE MOUNTAIN'S CALL) and it is full of more action, romance and drama than its prequel. The love Kerrick and Valeria feel for each other is tested by secrets he keeps from his lover and the wounds that refuse to heal, both magical and physical, inflicted on him by his half-brother. The battle scenes are magnificent, the characters are realistic and the storyline is pure magic; readers will eagerly await the next book in this tantalizing series.

Harriet Klausner