Following on from the exciting events in Furies of Calderon (also reviewed on this site), Tavi’s wish has come true. He has been enrolled in the Academy and is ostensibly the First Lord’s page, but is actually a trainee spy. But something terrible is stirring, something that Tavi and Kitai awakened during their time in the Wax Forest. Trouble is, the aging First Lord is struggling enough just to keep up with the rash of storms menacing people in one part of his realm, to pay attention to the fact that a possible civil war is about to happen...

...Now read on! This author knows how to keep those pages turning far into the night, and has produced a book that is going to appeal to a wide range of fantasy readers. For those, like this reviewer, who prefer more traditional stuff, there is the thrill of encounters with the dreadful Vord and plenty of adventure. For those who enjoy the political machinations and court intrigue of writers like George R R Martin there is plenty of that too, and the two elements balance each other out nicely. We get to find out what the characters from the first book are up to, while new friends and foes are introduced to us, for each book contains a new story with new enemies as well as the continuing background saga of high politics and individual concerns. It’s a winning mixture that started well in the first book and continues here even better.