The healer-priestess Kamara finds herself having to leave her peaceful realm and travel into the barbarian lands beyond to defeat an evil that could destroy everything. But her entire life, and the lives of many she encounters, are all part of the creature’s plot, and as a pacifist raised to placate opponents, how can she defeat something that can only be opposed by violent defiance?

Expect adult content throughout this, as rape is a plot-point (unusually, not for ‘character development’ of a woman but as a key part of a character’s origin) and there are several sex scenes as well as many of the male characters wanting to break or possess Kamara the female lead. There are also incest hints on the part of the villain.

There are multiple adult scenes, some outright explicit, but this isn’t an excuse to string scenes together. The plot is complex and moves quickly into politics, mysticism, and war with the king’s death risking a power grab by more than simply temporal forces. Kamara’s journey from innocent healer to leadership and warrior is fascinating to read, while Michael and Kayente’s frustration with her initial naivete at times mirrors the reader’s own. Kayente actually develops into more than just another barbarian warlord, and his battle to overcome lingering guilt for his origins is well-written.

The final twist is easy to foresee once the full wording of the prophecy is known, but it still hits hard when it actually happens. Overall this is a great example of dark fantasy, although probably too adult for younger readers due to the sexual content, and with too much plot to appeal to the standard adult market. Also I should mention that the entire book, all 8000 locations, are the one story with no afternotes or extraneous matter and it kept me reading it through in one go.

Fantasy readers who don’t mind explicit content will probably enjoy this, but don’t get it for children.