From Publishers Weekly
Following her well-received Kushiel's Legacy trilogy (Kushiel's Dart, etc.), bestseller Carey takes a daringly different tack in the first of a new epic fantasy series that focuses on seven gods rather than an ingratiating human heroine like the trilogy's Phèdre nó Delaunay. Readers may be overwhelmed at first by the vast cast of larger-than-life characters, including many exotic creatures, fanged, toothed and winged, but as the gods and their assorted hangers-on behave more like real people than mythic heroes, they gain in sympathy. Haomone, the eldest of the seven gods, and one of his younger brothers, Satoris, who sundered the earth with his sword, are in rebellion. Satoris's primary lieutenant, Tanaros Blacksword, who has lived 1,000 bitter years after killing his unfaithful wife and her lover, his king, endures the irony that he must kidnap but safeguard her beautiful descendant, Cerelinde, who is about to be married. The poignancy of Tanaros's situation is palpable but never overplayed. Also moving is the plight of Lillias, a beautiful sorceress also a millennium old, enamored of Callendor, a colossal dragon. Perhaps nowhere in fiction is a dragon described as remarkably or as lovingly, a creature of unbelievable power yet also of gentle tenderness. This is a memorable beginning to what should be another strong series.
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From Booklist
The Shapers' War has divided Urulat. Third Born Satoris has been thrown to one side of the great Sundering Sea with all Urulat's creatures, his six Shaper siblings to the other, separated from their creations. For ages, Satoris is content to sit in Darkhaven, his fortress, but when a new prophecy declares that the world can be healed with Satoris' death, he gathers forces to defend himself. To prevent a powerful, dangerous alliance, and with the help of Lilias the sorceror and the dragon Calendor, Satoris kidnaps Cerelinde, the lady of Ellylon, on the day of her marriage. The gentle Cerelinde has unforeseen effects on Darkhaven residents, however, that ultimately and irrevocably change their destinies. Carey's formal style, at first distancing, proves perfect for setting the tone for a grand epic and narrating the mythic lives of the larger-than-life Shapers. Its consistency and artistry form a strong frame for showcasing Carey's intimate development of deeply wounded, sometimes deeply flawed, yet utterly dignified and sympathetic characters--some of the best dragons in all fantasy literature. Paula Luedtke
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