Winds of Khalakovo: The First Volume of The Lays of Anuskaya

In ambition, The Winds of Khalakovo (Winds) is not so different from A Song of Fire and Ice and any of the other well regarded fantasy epics. There are several different POV perspectives, an imaginative magic system and mythos, political intrigue, romance, lots of battles and a lengthy book that appears to contemplate sequels (I have not checked for them). The problems, however, are many:

(1) one paragraph will be in the POV of one character, and the next paragraph will be a POV from another character with no warning. Normally when people mention this issue in other books I am not bothered by it, but here it was kind of a bigger deal, an actual and repeated annoyance. At least give us * * * to denote POV changes. Something;

(2) the "romance" is poorly done - one character basically falls in love because a prince tries hard at a dance;

(3) the politics are very important to the book but thinly sketched (despite the book's length). For example, there is a hugely important rebel faction that is apparently mad because they had their land stolen. I say apparently, because we are never told anything about the history of this conflict, dont know what land was stolen when or anything of that sort. When a war breaks out among the "Landed" (the folks that apparently collectively stole the rebels land) it doesnt feel convincing;

(4) the magic system and mythos has too many very different components, and while parts of it work quite well, the tie in with the overall plot does not. There is a spirit world with powerful fire/water/air/wind spirits and some can bond/control them to an extent. Other folks have the talent for assuming a sort of astral form when submerged in cold water, and these folks are used for communication, and to help tame the wind currents. Still other folks have the talent for actually manipulating the winds so that ships can fly from island to island. Those parts are fine, and in spots actually work quite well. There are some fun sky-ship battles, for example. But there is much beyond that -- reborn wizards, a seemingly autistic kid, magic gems that get created what feels like randomly, a plot involving the autistic kid, a growing "rift", spirits sucking on souls, a wasting disease, and as you get towards the end, it starts to feel made up as the author went along. Lots of potential and creativity, but the author maybe got a little too ambitious and/or didnt do a good enough job of making his imagination serve the plot. Too many moving parts that dont mesh well enough;

(5) the book really seems to be heading towards a resolution in one volume, and then it just doesnt. What with the overly-complicated mythos, I was just feeling lost and/or like the author was tacking stuff on at the end to try to keep going.

I really feel like this author has a strong imagination, and is *close* to being able to write convincing epic fantasy. Winds has a pretty decent amount of action, and the action sequences seem to be pretty well done. However, I almost gave this book 2 stars, because -- in trying for an epic feel -- this book sets the bar too high. I feel like if the author had just scaled back his ambitions a little and focused on a tighter plot, he could have written something I would give 4 or 5 stars. This, however, is not that book.

Bottom line: Soft 3 star rating. I do not recommend it, but its possible you might like it.

As I've read through reviews at another site, it seems that some readers have a hard time with this book because of the Russian flavor--too many unfamiliar names, they say. Maybe it's because I've read some of the works of Dostoyevsky, Bulgakov, and Turgenev, but the Russian names didn't bother me. It took a little bit to get used to them, since fantasy novels so often use Celtic or otherwise Western European names, but then it was kind of refreshingly different. I did have to look up a word or two that wasn't Russian because I was unfamiliar with the archaic or alternate spelling ("gaoler" for "jailer," for example).

I was worried that the story might be awkwardly pieced together when I saw one of the central characters described in the summary as an autistic savant. That kind of real-world technical term just wouldn't fit in the oftentimes archaic language of fantasy. Thankfully, the book is never so explicit about the boy's mental condition; in fact, I was left not even sure that it's an accurate description, because the character of his mental state is only described (never given a name) and is so enmeshed with the magics of Anuskaya.

I did find the story a little bit difficult to follow at times, but in a good way--it kept me thinking, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. That much actually did remind me of some of the Russian literature I've read. And the mix of technology and magic reminds me of the Final Fantasy rpg series, with airships and summoning and so on.

In all, it's not the easiest read you'll pick up, but if you're okay with that, the story and the characters are quite interesting. An enjoyable read.

Most of secondary world fantasy, since the time of Tolkien, has used a Western European template to inspire fantasy worlds. The language, symbols and building blocks of unique worlds draw, sometimes without even realizing it, from a common set of tropes, images and ideas. Things like the knight in shining armor, riding a charger, the bucolic village that could have come from England, the very descriptions of food, drink, and dress all often draw from Western European history, myth and culture. In more recent years this myopic focus has extended, but even so, there are plenty of cultures whose strata have not been tapped as much as others.

Russia is one of these. Oh, there have been novels set in Russia's past, but unique cultures and societies based on the grammar of Russian culture are thin on the ground. The only one that comes immediately to mind is Sarah Zettel's Isavalta sequence of novels.

Bradley Beaulieu has decided to help fill in that gap. In the Winds of Khalakovo, Beaulieu introduces us to a secondary world, an archipelago dominated world. The culture of the Landed, the dominant race and people of the islands, borrows heavily from the Russian. Titles of the nobility have a distinctly Russian bent, as do the names for units of the military, governance, names, and more. Food and drink are distinctly Russian. Clothing on this cold world also features traditional modes of Russian dress as well.

That would be enough invention for an epic fantasy world for many, but Beaulieu goes further, adding in an underclass, the Landless Aramahn, whose culture and customs are reminiscent of ancient Persia and the Middle East, and feel much like the Romany of Eastern Europe. The names for the elemental spirits, the various types of hezhan, that the Aramahn have connection to continues this line of inspiration.

The Winds of Khalakovo focuses mainly on three central characters:

Nikandr, Prince of the Khalakovo , youngest son of the reigning Duke and Duchess of that archipelago.

Atiana is a Princess of Vostroma, daughter of the Duke and Duchess. She has a brother, and two sisters.

The two families, Vostroma and Khalakovo, have carefully arranged an impending marriage between them., and the two have known each other, on and off, since they were children. Atiana's brother Borund and Nikandr regard each other as friends.

And then there is Rehada. She is an Aramahn, and has been Nikandr's mistress for some time. And she is, unbeknownst to her royal lover, far more than the wandering Aramahn than she appears to be.

With the politics and tension of the impending marriage hovering over the island, it is exactly at this time that that Maharraht, an outlawed sect of the Aramahn seeking to relieve their oppression, strike out viciously, propelling Nikandr, Atiana and Rehada into their own plans for the future of the islands. And there are others who would take advantage of the chaos, for their own political gain.

Beaulieu takes his time in setting up the central conflict and action in the novel, taking an almost leisurely amount of time to establish his world and his characters before unleashing the first notes of the problem of the novel. While this does allow for readers to get up to speed on an unfamiliar world, I think Beaulieu might have been a bit too leisurely. There are a couple of minor conflicts early on that allow for some character development and tension, but putting off the first major "bang" relatively deep into the book, I think, is problematic. Also problematic, I think, is some of the characterization in the book. The relationship between Nikandr and his sister Victania for example, is something I only really got a handle on from Nikandr's side--there isn't a lot to go on the other side to really round out the relationship. The relationship between Nikandr and Atiana, too, I think, needed a little more work and development. The Nikandr-Rehada relationship, I think, is written in stronger terms.

Those issues aside, however, there is a lot here for epic fantasy fans to sink their teeth into. As I said in the opening to this review, Beaulieu has taken the opportunity to mine some unexplored veins for ideas in this secondary world. There is a genius to use Russian culture on a world template--an archipelago, very different than one might expect in a Russian culture inspired novel. Archipelagos are an uncommon and underused setting for secondary world novels. It helps reinforce the secondary world feel of the book and is a great choice, I think, for the world building.

Unusually for secondary world fantasy, gunpowder or something like it does work in this universe. The soldiers and other characters carry single shot muskets, and there are cannon on ships and fortifications.

And then there are the airships. While there are indications that there are ships that brave the aquatic currents between the islands and archipelagos, the primary conveyance between islands are flying ships, powered and propelled by Aramahn who can control spirits of wind and life. Beaulieu takes full advantage of these windship. They are lovingly described in detail, and in contrast to the otherwise Russian terminology, Beaulieu uses Western naval names for ship parts and types of ships. Given the lack of a real naval tradition in Russia, this choice does make sense, but it does break the Russian immersion of the culture a little bit. As you might expect, a lot of the action scenes in the novel take place on board the ships, and there is airship-airship duels and combats. This allows the author to insert a fair share of swashbuckling and feats of derring do.

Another excellent bit of development in the novel is the differing approaches to magic by the Landed, Nikandr and the other families, and the Landless Aramahn. While the latter control elemental spirits and have the most visible magic, the Matra of the families of the duchies have a magic all of their own, their own methods of magic an interesting contrast, and far more subtle than summoning hezhan.

For a first novel, Beaulieu shows a good command of language. The book is written in a third person past tense point of view, except for some special situations. Although I thought it was a mistake by the author at first, those times when he breaks that tense and point of view combination are deliberate, and are a subtle signal to the reader of something I will allow you to discover as I did.

(A longer version of this review originally appeared at the Functional Nerds)

Being a semi-professional book critic has given me the opportunity to read a lot of books I otherwise wouldn't get to. The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley Beaulieu had been sitting in my Amazon cart for several months. Chances were I was never going to get around to buying it just because I have trouble keeping up with all my favorite authors as it is. Then thanks to author and editor Paul Genesse and Bradley Beaulieu himself, I was given the opportunity to read a review copy of The Winds of Khalakovo. What I found was a book that distinguishes itself in a genre saturated and somewhat stagnate in the setting department. I found a book with some rough edges and clarity issues, but also the start of a series with prime potential.

Everyone who reads The Winds of Khalakovo can't help but to marvel at the wonderful setting. The story takes place on an archipelago ruled by the Grand Duchy, a kingdom with a culture inspired by Tsarist Russia. From the names to the ceremonies, the Grand Duchy is a genuinely different society from what fantasy readers have become accustomed to. No pseudo-Medieval European setting here. The Grand Duchy is spread across the sea, reliant on majestic airships for trade. Alongside the Russian themed Duchy, is the Aramahn a Middle Eastern centric populace, and the Maharraht a violent guerilla movement that wishes to unseat the Grand Duchy from its throne. The culture clash, alongside varying belief systems and magic, give The Winds of Khalakovo an appealing personality that help carry the story even when other elements flag.

The story is told from in third person perspective. Broken up between Nikandr, son of the Duke of Khalakovo, Atiana the woman arranged to become his wife, and the prostitute Rehada who is Nikandr's lover and a member of the Maharraht resistance. Nikandr is fun to read, duty bound to both family and the Grand Duchy he makes for an agreeable hero with his fare share of imperfections. Atiana surprisingly became my favorite of the three. Despite conflicting interests Atiana is very active when it comes to influencing her own fate. Rehada, on the other hand, is nowhere near as strong a character as the other two. A lot of the things Rehada does seem contradictory at best and I was never able to empathize with her personal vendetta against the Grand Duchy.

I mentioned some rough edges there at the beginning of the review and the plot is among them. The politicking between the Dukes is a real high point. The alliances and arrangements, the rules enforced by the Matra (the telepathic women who are really in charge of the Duchy) are all very intriguing. What starts with an arranged marriage and ends in all out civil war is by far the most compelling part of the book. I've seen comparisons made between The Winds of Khalakovo and George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. The comparisons are appropriate a degree. Regrettably the supernatural aspects of the book are far less refined and the apocalypse of sorts set in motion by the Maharraht is vague at best.

Here is my biggest problem with The Winds of Khalakovo. Ironically it seems to be the same obstacle my boss, Steve Diamond, over at Elitist Book Reviews had. Clarity. Once you get acclimated to the Russian terms they don't prove to be too bothersome but a lot of the story is indistinct. The magic system in place seems to lack definite boundaries and the mystical events are obscure and difficult to follow. This would be much easier to overlook if the magic wasn't the driving force behind the plot but it really detracted from my enjoyment.

The Winds of Khalakovo is the opening part of a series with limitless potential. I have super high hopes for the sequel, The Straits of Galahesh which was just recently released. Beaulieu has created a tremendously original world inhabited by compelling characters. What is not to love about a fantasy novel inhabited by airship flying Russians? The Winds of Khalakovo is a challenging read but it is certainly worth giving a chance and I am confident that Beaulieu can address the concerns present, and carry on all the stronger.

*The magical Goatfairy grants The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley Beaulieu, 7 out of 10 cheesewands*
Nick Sharps
Goatfairy Review Blog

I started reading the paperback I bought at World Fantasy Convention 2011, but I soon switched to Kindle, when that edition was offered up for free (as a promotion, not the author's gift to me for review). In the interest of full disclosure, I will also point out that I know Brad, a little. I met him at WFC because we have some mutual friends, and I first fell in love with his writing after hearing him read from the sequel to this novel.

Now, all that being said, none of it affected my enjoyment of this book, which is one of the best fantasy debuts I've ever come across.

So, it's been about two weeks since I finished this book, and I needed that time, because it was a lot to absorb. I was a huge fan of epic fantasy when I was young--Tolkien was my first love, but authors like Eddings, Jordan, Brooks and others filled my shelves as a teen--but of late I've read very little of it. George Martin is really the only fantasy I've read this decade, and I can't even call A Song of Ice and Fire, High or True Fantasy (not that I mean that as a slight, George's books are phenomenal, just very nontraditional, in a good way). Bradley's book is incredibly similar in its inability to fit into a tidy little box.

There were some things that struck me about this novel as the levels through which I was introduced to it expanded.

- The cover. It's a steampunk-ish, alternate world, air-ship orgasm of a cover, and yet it's painted with such an air of mystery, it's clear this is no juvenile manga-style tale of another world (not that I don't love those too, but I digress)
- Brad's reading from what was then probably a third stage draft of the sequel. Brad's voice, tone, diction, and resonance probably played a part, but for me it was really the richness of language and culture that drew me in. I heard him read from the sequel before I read the original, but it gave me enough of a taste for the world that I knew I would have to return.
- The cultures. I don't want to attribute every fantasy I ever read to Tolkien, because as much as I wish it did, it doesn't work that way, and another thing that makes Winds stand out to me is the fact that is does not borrow Orcs, or Elves, or Dwarves. It includes the landed of the great duchies, who are only very loosely based on Tsarist Russia, who I thought were mostly pretty cool, except for amazing standout characters like Nikandr, Atiana, and Victania, but more importantly it included the fascinating Aramahn, a culture that was part Indian Hindi, part Arabic Muslim, and part Japanese Buddhist, whose religion, or more specifically, spiritual system of beliefs, was what really drove this story for me. It's key characters were the morally conflicted Rehada, the vaguely autistic Nasim, his guide and elder Ashan, and the clearly devout, confused, radical, and yet still sympathetic Soroush. The Aramahn really made this book for me, and I look forward to the subsequent volumes in which I hope they will explored even more deeply.

If I had to make one complaint, it would be that the pacing dragged a bit for me in the middle third. However, I suspect this was only due to the fact that I'd been reading so many 60,000 word YA novels lately, and I doubt that most fantasy readers would take issue. People who read a lot of high fantasy understand that a world this rich takes time to build, and you can't just dump it all on the reader. Regardless, the final third of the novel made it all worth it. There were almost sort of two separate climaxes, both of which I thought were done very well and thoroughly enjoyed.

I would recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys fantasy, but also for anyone who is looking for something truly new and unique.

I was intrigued by the imperial Russian influences hinted at in the description. I was not disappointed. In fact there was a fair bit of Russian or Russian-ish language throughout the book. In fact, I do wonder if a non-Russian speaker would have picked up on the meanings of the words and names for things, but it wasn't a problem for me. I enjoyed that aspect quite a bit.

Having recently watched (although not having read) Game of Thrones, I was struck by similarity in genre -- definitely fantasy evidenced by the magical elements of the world inhabited by people who commune with spirits in a parallel spirit world and masted ships which fly though the air in a three dimensional way similar to ships on the sea -- but also with a feeling of historical fiction, telling a story of rival dynasties and arranged marriages and conflicts between the aristocracy and the oppressed peasantry-other.

I think I will definitely read more of Beaulieu. Although I found some of the narrative a little hard to follow at times -- especially during action scenes -- I was incredibly impressed with his ability to describe a setting, particularly by capturing light, smell, and sound. I was often struck by the perfection of a description, actually stopping to marvel: "I know exactly what that sounds/smells like!" The rhythm of his dialog was good, as well. If for nothing else, I would recommend this book on that alone. It is a treat to experience writing like that.

"The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu is awesome epic fantasy with a Russian Czarist slant by an award-winning author. A Song of Ice and Fire meets Earthsea in this highly original and exciting novel set in the Grand Duchy of Anuskaya, an archipelago of bitterly cold islands where flying ships soar on dangerous winds.

"Life in the bleak islands was already difficult before the wasting disease blighted the land and started killing the inhabitants. No one knows what has caused the blight, or that Prince Nikandr Khalakovo has been afflicted by it. Nikandr has been hiding the illness for months and his betrothed, the strong-willed Atiana Vostroma does not realize that she will marry a dying man who is in love with a darkly beautiful Aramahn woman, Rehada, who keeps many secrets from her aristocratic lover.

"Atiana, Rehada, and Nikandr are all strong point of view characters who power the plot of this fast-paced novel full of spectacular imagery and emotional punch. The book is rooted with realistic characters in a harsh world that can only be tamed by the elemental magic practiced by the Landless Aramahn, who specialize in air, earth, fire, water and the stuff of life as they wander the world seeking knowledge and wisdom. Also fascinating were the Matri, the matriarchs of the great families who submerge themselves in freezing water and leave their bodies to navigate the dangerous aether and help guide the wind ships that follow the ley lines that connect the islands.

"Winds is a page-turner with twists, turns and palpable danger as Nikandr risks everything to protect a young Aramahn boy, an autistic savant, who may be the key to healing the blight. Atiana struggles to stay loyal to her family and the man she is supposed to marry. Rehada is very conflicted and perhaps the most interesting of the three, especially when she uses her magic to bond with the suurahezhan, or fire spirit.

"Civil war and the violent Maharraht, a splinter faction of the noble Aramahn, provide plenty of conflict as Nikandr, Atiana, and Rehada fight for what they love in this exceptional novel.

"Highly recommended."
--Paul Genesse,
Author of The Golden Cord

Prince Nikandr of Khalakovo is betrothed to Princess Atiana of Vostromo. Atiana is beautiful, and the match will be beneficial for both houses, but Nikandr is less than happy because he lives with two damning secrets. For one, his true love is not Atiana but an Aramahn prostitute named Rehada. What's even worse, Nikandr has contracted the early stages of a terrible disease that's laying waste to both the people and the crops of Anuskaya.

Tensions in the duchies of Anuskaya are high. Food shortages caused by the blight are making life harder for the common people. The Maharraht, a violent sect of the otherwise peaceful Aramahn, is trying to overthrow the rule of the Landed nobility. Grand Duke Stasa is old and ill, which means that leadership of Anuskaya may soon be changing hands. The political struggles between the duchies come to a head when the Maharraht pull off their boldest move yet, while the nobility of Anuskaya is gathered in Khalakovo...

The main characters in Bradley Beaulieu's debut novel The Winds of Khalakovo are all torn between the personal and the political, with the stories of Nikandr, Rehada and Atiana all intermingling on both levels. Nikandr's marriage to Atiana would be a political one, but his feelings for Rehada interfere. Rehada herself is torn between both poles, because despite her very real feelings for Nikandr, her story is more complex than you'd initially expect. In The Winds of Khalakovo, emotion affects power affects emotion in a continuous loop.

As befits a novel that has a fictional place name in its title, The Winds of Khalakovo is also very much the story of a brand new and utterly fascinating fantasy universe. Anuskaya is a collection of island groups that make up nine duchies, linked together by the flying vessels known as windships that are controlled by a combination of sails and magic. Bradley Beaulieu uses several points of view to slowly reveal the geography and history of his world to the reader. There's also a large amount of new vocabulary to get used to, which may be confusing for some readers because many terms and names sound similar. This is one of those novels where you occasionally just have to keep reading even if everything isn't completely clear, trusting that it will be clarified later on. This may actually happen in later novels, because we only see a small part of the fantasy world and its history in The Winds of Khalakovo. Despite the occasionally confusing way it's introduced here, Anuskaya is a fascinating place that obviously has much more to offer.

The windships' magic depends on the semi-nomadic Aramahn, a separate ethnic group that lives in uneasy coexistence with the Landed. The Aramahn use jewels to commune with spirits living in the spirit world of Adhiya. A second type of magic is controlled by the matriarchs (or "Matri") of the Duchies, who submerge themselves in ice cold underground pools to explore the magical aether, communicate telepathically, and assume the forms of other creatures. The contrast between the exhilarating freedom of flying in a windship and the claustrophobia of being drowned in freezing water couldn't be more effective. It only heightens the impression that the Matri's "drowning basins" are one of the most unpleasant forms of magic ever seen in fantasy.

As you'll notice, everything in Anuskaya has a Slavic flavor, from the vodka its inhabitants drink to names of places and people. Aramahn names and habits have more of an Arabic or even Persian style to them. Possibly this fantasy universe is meant to be a parallel to the part of our world where Eurasia meets the Middle East. I doubt that Bradley Beaulieu would have chosen these specific ethnicities arbitrarily, but my knowledge of their histories is fairly basic so I couldn't tell you if this story is meant to be a parallel to any particular period, in the same way Guy Gavriel Kay has written so many wonderful fantasy versions of real life history.

Whatever the case may be, The Winds of Khalakovo delivers enough material to fill more than one novel. The book is actually split in two parts, with the first one ending on a spectacular climax. Part two is so full of crazy escapes and wild battles, on windships and cliffs and in the dark, often described at length and in great detail, that it all gets to be a bit much towards the end. The tension is there, but it's maintained at such a high pitch for so long that it becomes numbing after a while. I loved the first part of this novel, getting to know the fantasy world and the characters, but part two simply wore me down. The main issue with The Winds of Khalakovo, like with many debut novels, is that the author has crammed so much material in this first book that I was simply exhausted towards the end. Possibly it would would have worked better as two separate novels.

Aside from these pacing issues and the aforementioned confusion you may experience with the vocabulary and names, The Winds of Khalakovo is a debut that merits your attention. The way Bradley Beaulieu focuses on the emotions of his characters in the midst of political turmoil is reminiscent of Robin Hobb or even George R. R. Martin. The world-building, especially the spirit realm of Adhiya and the way supernatural and historical events affect the present, makes this novel read like it would fit neatly into one of Steven Erikson's Malazan tomes. Those aren't bad names to be compared to for a debut author.

Despite its flaws, The Winds of Khalakovo is a strong first novel that promises great things for Bradley Beaulieu's future. While I'd call this series opener good rather than great, I am almost completely sure that its sequel, The Straits of Galahesh (due out in early April 2012) will be even better.

This book has a rich cultural hierarchy similar in some ways to the Dune series without being so unnecessarily complicated. The interactions between the various social and economic castes were well well presented, sensible, and easy to follow. I found that my understanding of each character's motivation and background was well supported by this backdrop. I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say the author had me really caring how things turned out for the characters, and he delivered in the end. I developed an extreme dislike for a certain character, empathized with their situation, and still wanted them to die. Way to go!

On the language side, the Russian terms and the fantasy naming structure for the otherworldly beings took a little getting used too, but it was clear that the author put some thought into how these were introduced to the reader. At first I found myself wanting a glossary, but the repeated use of each term or name in multiple contexts relieved this concern. The overall impact on the readability of the book was minor and I don't think this should be a big issue for most readers.

This book was a great read, packed with good action and satisfying character interactions. It had well thought out political intrigue, a variety of interesting characters, and presented some fun fantasy elements that were readily approachable. The ship to ship combat was lots of fun to visualize.

If you enjoyed Dune, the Integral Trees, or the Night Watch, then you will surely find something to love in this book.

A few disclaimers: Brad Beaulieu is a friend of mine. He let me read the E-ARC version of the book, and so I got a headstart on this one. Make of that what you will.

The Winds of Khalakovo is a beautiful, poignant, and powerful story. Nothing is easy for the characters. The consequences of their actions and the prices they must pay as the story unfolds are profound. With a rich tapestry of culture behind the tale, the sense of reality remains vivid all the way through. With subtlety and forethought, the author builds up hopes and expectations, only to confound them as plans fail and new revelations are learned.

Spoiler Alert:

We begin with Nikandr, a headstrong prince who lives with the secret that he is doomed, an incurable sickness gnawing away at him. He is one of the Landed, a czarist-Russian tinged culture who controls the islands with their Windships. The Aramahn, Turkish-influenced nomads who can call upon elemental spirits, aid them in their control of the winds and waters. The Maharraht, however, are a rebel sect of the Aramahn who want to destroy the Landed. Agents of the Maharraht are nearer to Nikandr than he imagines...

When the Grand Duke is killed by an elemental spirit and the Maharraht are implicated, a divisive investigation begins, revealing that the fabric that separates the material world from the elemental is torn, and that problems far graver than any rearrangement of society are afoot. Everything leads back to one troubled boy, the key to either healing the tear in reality or ripping it asunder.

Nikandr and the other characters must go beyond all they imagine themselves capable of to try and save Anuskaya.

End of Spoilers:

I highly recommend Brad's book. I think it is a fresh, compelling, and intoxicating new fantasy, one that will appeal readers of all stripes.