When West finished the concluding book of the Sun Sword series, her manuscript came to more than two thousand pages. It is printed in two volumes, of which this one is the first. The series tells a long and complicated story, with a huge cast of characters and multiple plot strands. In this volume, the Empire and the Dominion are preparing for a war having to do with the rights of the legitimate heir, Valedan. Clan leaders and the northern army support either the usurper or the heir. Women play an enormous part in the conflict, either from the confines of their harems in the South, as part of the Northern army, or as seers and soothsayers. Demon lords and mages pursue their own cryptic goals. This volume will not stand on its own. There is no plot synopsis from previous series books to help the reader; the Dramatis Personae is large but frustratingly incomplete, and even the map is inadequate. West's writing is highly embroidered and romantic. Conversations can go on for so long that the reader loses track of who is talking. This series is for fantasy readers who relish enormous detail. The many fans of the first four books breathlessly await the conclusion, so buy this one where there is a following and also consider book six, The Sun Sword (DAW, 2004). Add the entire series of six books, and the most devoted fantasy readers will be grateful. VOYA Codes 3Q 4P S A/YA (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult-marketed book recommended for Young Adults). 2003, DAW, 828p., pb. Ages 15 to Adult.