The first book in a sweeping epic, it sets up a complex set of worlds & yet also has a ton of action. If you're looking for something that rivals the Lord of the Rings, I think this is it. If you're looking for a quick easy read, something you can skim through - don't read this book. You'll only get confused. Every word is hand picked & polished to wring out the full meaning.

While the book is a setup to a series, it doesn't end on a cliff hanger, something I appreciate. Actually, it could easily be two books & was in at least one edition (German, I think). The action rises to a peak in about the middle & that would make a fine novel, all on its own. Then, very logically & smoothly, the adventure continues until another shattering climax at the end.

The players are all still there & it's obvious life goes on, so I'm ready to read the next in the series. (The complete series this time - they're all coming now!!!)This is a book I'll keep & re-read, something I don't do lightly any more. There are too many good books out there to re-read any but the best. ( )

While the start of this book was a bit slow and confusing, I really enjoyed it by the time it was halfway through. The characters are interesting and complex, and the plot and action are almost as good. ( )

How to review a book this vast in scope and detail? It is truly one of the most engaging epic fantasies you are likely to read.

In ages past, high kings ruled Atherea with magically enhanced Justice and Compassion, guided where necessary by the united Fellowship of Seven sorcerers. Unicorns pranced in sunlit glades and all was well in the world. 500 years ago the sorcerer Devine broke fellowship and led a revolution throwing down the high kings and blocking the sun in the coils of a Mistwraith, only at utmost cost could the remaining sorcerers save the heirs to the throne who grew up in an exiled world ignorant of their past. The unicorns fled the mist shrouded land.

Two princes bastard half brothers grow up as heirs to different rulers antagonized through generations of mistrust. A pirate community tries it's best to survive, the mage trained prince allows a final raid only to be captured and brought to face justice from his brother's father. The result is both are exiled out of their world and they land in Althera to be greeted by a sorcerer as the prophecied united savior to the land. But can they act together? Have the generations of strife ruined any hope for Athera? Can the dying kingdom's consent to rule by outlander princes? What is the fate of kingdom of compassion without justice, or justice without compassion? Will the mistwraith be defeated?

It is is not without it's minor niggles. Plotwise the Princes adapt to a completely foreign world in remarkable short order, without any dis-orientation. And of course we have The Journey, common to so many fantasy novels our heros make their way on some epic trek across the countryside as a contrivance for them to meet people. And fo course this requires a map, and a glossary of names. More standard fantasy tropes that I dislike, particularly when I have to break the reading flow to go and check who so and so is and where abouts this town could be, however this is much better than not having them as without you will be truly lost. Fotunately most of the other major fantasy cliches are avoided!

The writing style is mostly superb, with very vivid imagery, particularly when you've been imersed in the world for a while, however just occasionaly long dscriptive sentaces break the flow, requiring a backtrack to grasp the narrative.

This is a multiple POV story, a style that I generally don't like. The two main princes carry most of the burden but we switch for odd chapters to other characters, the importance of whom we wait to see, the witch in particular seems to break the flow, but may be vital to later books. The other oddity is a series of glimpses around the world, characters briefly interacted with get a later paragraph at the end of some chapters. Although this sounds disruptive it actually works very well at keeping in touch with those who may prove to be inportant later on.

The characters are great, the world detailed practical and well described and the plot twists and turns its way to the intricate conclusion, paving the way for what will be a great series.

Rich, deep, vivid and vast this is one of the most enthralling epic fantasies I've ever read. Make sure you have plenty of uninterupted time, find somewhere comfortable and let the Curse of the Mistwraith swallow you for hours.

After re-read:
Not much to add. One more minor niggle occured - after 18000 years of history society has not progressed beyoned the dark ages, no technology, no paper or printing presses, no alchemy, or steam power... seems unlikely.

However I enjoyed the switching of view points far more, especially the glimpses around the continent. I hardly noticed the great journey either, and didn't refer to either the glossary or the map, so it is not that difficult to keep names and places straight. Best read in long chunks without intteruptions or distractions so you can just lose yourself in the world.

Eagerly looking forward to Ships of Merior ro see how the story progresses.

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Princely royalty, half-brothers bred from childhood to rule - and to hate one another - pirate king's son, Master of Shadow Arithon, and s'Illessid prince and royal heir Lysaer are thrown through a world gate together. Banished into a cursed world which they are fated to save, the pair fulfill a prophecy spelling the end of the Mistwraith, a fell miasma which has held the land of Athera hostage for centuries. Forced to work together, the two come to share grudging respect, and almost affection for one another.

Sunlight prevails, but it would be a boring story that ended there, right?

Unfortunately for Athera, the Mistwraith shrouding the countryside is not only evil beyond reckoning, but it's clever as well. Banished, bound and warded by the combined efforts of the princes and the Fellowship of Sorcerers, before it goes a piece of it wraps tendrils around the princes' gifts, warping them beyond hope of correction. Will the lifted curse spell ultimate doom for the princes, the world of Athera, and the mysterious Paravian creatures (elves, centaurs, and unicorns) that the Fellowship risks all to save? You'll have to read the sequels to find out.

Stretching to 590 pages, not including the extensive glossary, Wurts opens her series with a tome to be respected (if for no other reason than that dropping it on your toes will hurt!). The story is finely crafted and the characters are sympathetic. It should be easy to forget that this is a story viewed through the eyes of a seer far, far in the future; that from the first pages, history has already tarred Arithon a villain and Lysaer a savior. But with plenty of foreshadowed and foreseen gloom and doom (seers, prophecies... no one ever seems to have good dreams to forecast) and lots of blood, rain, warped gifts and helpless wizards, the story's a grim one. Still, it's well written, and I was glad I had the second installment close to hand, as not much gets resolved at the "end" of book one. ( )

Music and swords and magic. What drew me to this book when I first picked it up in the mid 90’s was, frankly, the cover illustration, but it was the idea of a quest and a world where vanquishing the villain requires a collaboration between the elements of dark and light that prompted me to read it. The world is paradoxical and complex, the plot is (simplistically) a twist on the usual idea that what is light is good and what is dark is bad.

I fell in love with the world of Athera and her cast of characters. The richness of the writing makes it all come alive. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves an epic adventure with intelligence and creativity. The writing is spiced up with these lovely and wrenching moments of crystal clear description – an existential style snapshot of time… for me, the writing is visually evocative and emotionally captivating.

The story focuses on two young men, Princes each, pitted against each other by the wars of their fathers. They are half-brothers born of a magical mother who has gifted them with elemental powers, one of light, one of shadow. They grew up very differently, were trained for different pursuits and have very different personalities, looks and ambitions. They are opposites in many ways. But through an arduous and wrenching twist of fate, they must work together to save a world not their own from an insidious, mysterious wraith that has swallowed the sunlight in mist.

It’s a complex tale that hints at much, much more to come. The cast of characters and creatures is fascinatingly rich and the writing of Janny Wurts brings it all alive vividly. The tale is set against a backdrop of recent civil uprising, making the political landscape as treacherous as the magical one.

An outcast society of clansmen, a complicated network of meddling witches, pirates, musicians, and the “not so typical” band of bearded sorcerers (one of which appears to have defected) are some of the people introduced along with the world of Athera.

I really enjoyed the book on many levels. It is an epic story of flawed relationships, of the struggle to break free of imposed fate or identity, of great and small portents, and the horror of war. And magic, of course! Magic as a living force of nature.

My personal favorite, the unicorns dancing… a dream of beauty so pure it can crack open the human soul.

Read it. ( )