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Fourteen-year-old Dorno hoped to
finally get a chance to throw the harpoon at the whale his tribe had
been hunting for days. When the beluga suddenly breached the surface in
front of his and his father’s small craft, all of the years of boyhood
practice came into play as he leaned over the prow and heaved his
weapon at the enormous creature before him. But rather than embedding
itself in the whale’s flank, the harpoon skidded across the hide and
lodged in the creature’s fluke instead. As the whale dove Dorno fell
backward in the bucking boat, getting tangled up in the harpoon’s line
in the process. Suddenly he was being pulled into the depths after the
huge mammal. His father saved him that day but died soon after from his
efforts. One pivotal moment affected Dorno’s life forever.
Such moments abound in Knight’s novel. An apprentice wizard makes a
sudden decision to murder his master in a lust for power, setting in
motion events that will affect countless lives for centuries. Two old
magicians decide to raise an abandoned baby, never envisioning the role
she will play in a future conflict. A young girl storms away from her
foster mother and the shelter of a cave in a fit of anger, only to be
sucked into the air and eventually rescued by the young man she will
eventually share her life with. These twists of fate enrich a story
that already has a lot going for it. Daring adventure, sharp betrayal,
and soft romance combine in a well-written fantasy and science fiction
tale where things are never exactly as they seem.
As a former librarian, Knight understands the ingredients necessary for
a good yarn. And in this first novel of his trilogy he adds them in
just the right amount.