From Library Journal
For over a thousand years, the colonists of the planet Erna have struggled to gain control over a land prone to seismic instability and infused with a wild, near-sentient natural force known as "the fae." While sorcerers and adepts manipulate the dark and light sides of this power, the Church maintains its stance in opposition to its use. As the dark side of the fae grows in strength, feeding off the nightmares and greed of the minds that are drawn to it, four individuals form an unwilling alliance to battle the source of evil. Friedman ( In Conquest Born , DAW, dist. by NAL, 1978; The Madness Season , DAW, dist. by NAL, 1990) has produced a splendid hybrid of sf and fantasy in this first volume of a trilogy. Hauntingly memorable protagonists, high drama, and vivid world-building mark the beginning of what promises to be a magnum opus of the imagination. A priority purchase for fantasy or sf collections.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

ANNOTATION

With her highly acclaimed novels In Conquest Born and The Madness Season, C.S. Friedman acquired a well-deserved reputation for exploring science fiction's most challenging themes. Now she turns her talent to fantasy in a novel that boldly and provocatively examines the ever-mutable nature of evil and mortality.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The highly acclaimed author of In Conquest Born turns her attention to fantasy in her boldest and most provocative work to date. On a far-distant planet, ancestors of the original colonists from Earth are caught in a desperate battle for survival against the fae--a terrifying natural force that preys on the human mind. "Promises to be a magnum opus of the imagination."-- Library Journal. HC: Daw.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal