Cladi is an orphan-slave living in The House and follows the rituals of the House. She also is pubished for minor infractions by the deneziens of the house who think nothing of whipping slaves. A golden stranger arrives, sending eddies through the House, the greatest of which is that Claidi is represented as being of the royal house and sent to the Wolf Tower with this stranger through the savage Waste.

She meets with different people making enemies and friends along the way and when she arrives she finds why she's wanted in the Wolf Tower. But is she willing to play along?

It's interesting, written as journal entries it's fun to see the character develop. I wasn't quite convinced by the relationships but there are limits that people put when they write journals anyway. Largely satisfying and I've put a reserve in the library for the next one. ( )

My first Tanith Lee but definitely not my last. I bought this book as a Christmas present for myself.

Although initially the idea of an entire book comprised of journal entries caused me to wonder if the style would wear thin, I found that there was enough dialogue to keep the story moving along and it didn't "feel" as if I were reading only journal entries. Claidi is a likable narrator and I can't wait for my daughter to get a bit older so I can share this one with her. ( )