I enjoyed reading this – after a couple of fairly lackluster entries in the genre, it was refreshing to find something where you wanted to keep turning pages, to find out what would happen next. Cayan, together with Shanti, lead the expedition to rescue him, but the resulting conflict brings her presence in the area to the attention of the very people she least wants to find out. While her adroitness, with both mind and sword, are key in fending off the enemy, it offers only temporary relief, because Sanders is then captured while out on a mission, and tortured to reveal the city’s secrets. However, it turns out they aren’t alone, and have partnered up with others who pose a bigger threat.

When the city comes under attack, it appears initially just to be another raid by the Mugdock, a barbarian tribe who have caused trouble for years. But the key turns out to be Captain Cayan, who possesses the same psionic warfare capabilities as Shanti except, he’s all but unaware of it, a sharp contrast to her finely-honed and practiced expertise. They take her back to their town, where she’s nursed back to health – then the awkward questions begin, concerning where she was going and precisely why she was carrying weapons. Fortunately, she is found by Sanders, a career soldier from a nearby city, out on a training mission with a band of raw recruits.

Not that you’d know it when we first encounter her, staggering through the wilderness on the edge of death, after an ill-considered choice of route as she escapes from… Something.

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