I am absolutely thrilled that this is going to be a series! There is no way that I could put this book down – so many interesting characters, so much activity going on, a clear tone for the politics, and for the environment. Right from the start we have a fairly good idea that everything that is going on is not strictly on the physical or earth plane. Through the interactions of the various characters we find that many of them have special skills, and a special “knowing”.
The story revolves around a young girl named Jeniche, who supports herself by being a thief. Yes, she has a conscious, and yes, she has developed her own boundaries, including respect for herself as well as respect for others.
In the opening moments we find Jeniche alone in her jail cell, having been woken by the sound of one of the walls of her cell collapsing. This was good news … of a sort. The initial collapse was not enough to make room for her to get out, but the second one did. She was able to move into the hallway, where a violent rapist in the next cell wanted her to unlock his cell and let him out. She thought better of that, and kept on moving.
She found herself outside, in a city that was mass chaos. (Perhaps this is the place to note that the setting for this novel is ancient times.) Jeniche is dodging the city police, who will want her back in jail, as well as the soldiers who are invading. She also realizes that part of her confusion is the landscape – a significant structure in her life has been badly, and is crumbling down. She races over, climbs the stones, and begins clearing the area as fast as she can. She finds what she is looking for – the body of a learned woman friend. Her friend is dead … now there is no one to teach Jeniche.