‘The Wind that Sweeps the Stars’ – Greg Keyes (Titan Books)

Page Count: 393 Pages

It feels like a lot longer than it actually has been (I’m blaming, well… everything) but… I hadn’t read any fantasy in a while and I wanted to do something about that sooner rather than later. Where better place to kick off then, than with the new book from Greg Keyes. I’ll always have a lot of time for his ‘Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone’ series (which may be due a re-read now) so the prospect of a brand new fantasy, in ‘The Wind the Sweeps the Stars’, had me pretty excited to get reading.

A weekend of house sitting and a days commuting was all I needed to finish the book, which should tell you a fair bit. That would make for a short post here though so lets see if I can do better than that, shall we…?

ALONE AGAINST AN EMPIRE...

When Yash of Zeltah arrives in the fortress city of Honaq, she is greeted as a barbarian, a simple pawn. Her marriage to prince Chej has been arranged, they say, to avert war. Yet she knows the truth, for the armies already ravage the land.

A skilled and deadly assassin, there is more to Yash than any might suspect. Before another day can pass, she must defeat the masters of the nine towers―the plagues, magics, and monsters they control, the soldiers they command. Without raising an alarm, she must kill all who oppose her―even the immortal emperor. The lives and souls of Zeltah, the people and the land upon which they live, all depend on it.

‘The Wind that Sweeps the Stars’ was a great read, no two ways about it. Once I’d started, Yash’s mission, and her very matter of fact way of going about it, had me hooked and there was no way that I wasn’t going to finish it (and yes, I’m a fan but even so). We’ve got a high stakes mission and an accompanying plot that’s easily as full of as many twists and turns as the fortress city of Honaq itself. Add a fair bit of ‘giant magical creature’ action and we have a plot that is full of verve and spectacle.

And if that wasn’t enough, we have two leads where it’s a pleasure to follow their journey. I’m not just talking about the plot either. Both Yash and Chej are on their own little voyages of discovery, playing out against wider events. Yash’s mission is their entire focus but they will find out that it doesn’t have to be as clear cut as they originally thought. Chej will discover that an Empire isn’t necessarily it’s people. There’s a lot for the reader to ponder over and it’s all handled very deftly in terms of how these two characters develop over the course of the book.

Where I fell down, a little bit, was in trying to get my head round the ‘worldbuilding passages at the beginning of certain chapters. There’s a lot to take in, at least it felt like that to me, and I missed out on bits that would have added a lot to the ending moments of the book. I think that’s on me though, I’m absolutely shattered at the moment and things are drifting over my head. ‘The Wind that Sweeps the Stars’ will definitely be re-read so those passages will get another chance. What I will say though is that as a rule, I really don't get on with poetry in fantasy but that wasn't the case here with some really touching verses that gradually shed light on what Yash must achieve.

‘The Wind that Sweeps the Stars’ was a lot of fun then and well worth the time that I spent with it. Whether you’re a fan of Keyes’ work or if you’re just after a sharp dose of well written fantasy, you’re in for a good read here.