Overall, I found this book surprisingly enjoyable! It captured the feel of the Dark Sun setting (a brutal post-apocalyptic fantasy world in which unchecked magic has left most of the alient planet Athas a barren wasteland and sorceror god-kings rule the few remnants of cilization with an iron fist) admirably, the plot was legitimately interesting, and the writing was unobtrusive (ie: I noticed the story and characters more than the author trying to impress his readers).

I especially liked the way Denning approaches the complex moral issue of magic-use. In the Dark Sun world all magic is fueled by ripping the life-energy out of a nearby living thing, usually plants; this is why the planet is a wasteland, as reckless sorcerors kept using the planet's life to fuel their conquests and internecine squabbles. There's a middle ground, using only enough magic to fuel the desired effect, but leaving the living things enough energy to recover and flourish; this middle ground is less powerful however and magic-use in general is highly addictive (sort of like potato chips or peanuts). It seems as though the middle ground would be the "good" option, but Denning puts the characters in several situations in which their lives are spared by complete indulgence in unchecked sorcery and others in which the weakness of the middle ground imperils the characters. The three approaches to magic (non-use, reckless use, and guarded use) are presented as little more than amoral approaches to a natural phenomenon, their morality ultimately mediated by the morality of the individual using them.

However the author's style and characterization are also incredibly uneven.

There were several points at which it felt like he was so desperate to move the plot along that he skipped important narrative points and I found myself flipping back through to see if I'd missed a chapter; the escape from UnderTyr and the journey to the Forest Ridge are effectively ignored, mentioned only in dismissive references. This is unfortunate as the first 2/3 of the book moved along at a much healthier pace, and i suspect either Denning was in a hurry to get to the parts he "liked" or he was under pressure to make the book shorter/write it faster.

The prologue involving the templar Tithian and sorceror-king Kalak was gripping, introducing us to the bloody, slave-driven theocracy of the city-state of Tyr and characters who are at once compelling and contemptible; these characters are fascinating and well-written throughout, especially Tithian. Denning does an excellent job of juxtaposing Kalak's seeming frailty and age with his terrible power and cunning, but Tithian is one of the most well-drawn characters i've encountered in literature. He's a priest to a god-king, not because he truly believes in Kalak's divinity but because, lacking the discipline and drive to pursue the ascetic path of psionics, he found that the ranks of the templars promised easier access to power, wealth and influence; once a member of the sorceror-king's theocracy he comes to realize how truly powerful and truly vicious his "god" is, and ultimately regrets the favor he finds in Kalak's eyes. He is loyal to his old friend, Agis, but only insofar as it does not inconvenience or imperil himself -- he himself admits freely that he always does what he believes to be in his own best interests. Agis by contrast is a naive idealist, a man who possessed the discipline and strength of will to pursue asceiticism but who lacks the savvy and understanding of human nature which his childhood friend Tithian posseses; Agis truly believes that he can effect change in a theocracy through senatorial votes, and truly believes that by treating his slaves well he is doing better by them than he would be if he were to free them. Indeed, his failure to understand the value of freedom to a slave costs him dearly. He fancied himself a champion of slaves and the downtrodden, but it is only after he finally becomes affiliated with an anti-slavery, anti-government terrorist cell called "the Veiled Alliance" that he realizes how hypocritical and naive he has really been. The slaves-gladiators Rikus and Neeva and their friends are written with attention to their different life experiences (when compared to the nobility and templar's lives) and the fact that they have been raised to kill or be killed. Oh, and the gaj. THE GAJ! One of the best and most interestingly alien characters I have ever encountered; it lacks all humanity, yet learns to communicate like a human, and there is something delicious about the way in which, when caught in a lie, it responds by simply stating that deception is useful.

Sadira however...every time Sadira and her mentor appeared or the focus shifted to them, it felt like I was reading a different book by a different author. Those pages were HORENDOUSLY cliched and full of needless, flavorless exposition. Indeed, once Sadira and the other characters start traveling together, the book's overall quality dips drastically. It's clearly not that he can't write female characters -- there are at least three other, better-written, far more interesting female characters. It almost seems like he felt he HAD to include her, or saved her portions of the book for last and then just hurried through them without an editor or feedback. Arguably the only interesting thing about her is Sadira's approach to sex/romance; she trained from a young age to use sex against men and, for the sake of espionage, she was not allowed to develop her monogamous instincts. As such she annoys and offends and dismays many characters with her polyandrous desires. But even that is only mentioned a few times. It really does feel like Denning forgot to develop the character and just stuck with a vague outline he'd created.

This book could have been one, two, or three hundred pages longer and would likely have benefited from it. I understand that there are four more books in the series, but the second half of this volume suffers dramatically for the rushed pace and the temporal skips. I enjoyed it, but I hope the rest of the series will be more even and that the author will better develop many of the elements he unfortunately neglects in this one.