Publisher's Weekly Review
Readers seeking a lengthy grimdark tale will find plenty of pain and suffering in the trials of Teyr Amondsen, former mercenary turned merchant, as she endeavors to establish an ambitious trade route across the Circle of clan lands. She travels with fellow soldiers; her accountant lover, Aude, and his son; and a significant quantity of medicinal plants-many of which are performance-enhancing battle drugs-and the drudha who know how best to administer them. Their challenges include persuading multiple clans of the benefits of the road and winning over the mysterious Oskoro people who reside in the forest at the heart of the Circle. Teyr's ambition and endurance are admirable, her goal is refreshingly mundane and pragmatic, and Selby has crafted a deeply imagined world. However, the unrelenting misery of her circumstances is exhausting, and the choice of an interwoven narrative of two timelines feels unnecessary. Even those drawn to bleak stories will find this one a little excessive. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Teyr Amondsen is a former mercenary, a merchant, and a woman with a plan: to build a road that connects all of the clans of the Circle, allowing all to use it without tolls. Citadel Hillfast's Chief Othbutter supports her effort only because Hillfast will benefit from the road, while the work and financial outlay are hers. Working through the inter-clan rivalries will be hard enough, but a brutal warlord, Samma Khiese, aggravates the situation, terrorizing clans, forcing them to bow to his whim. His whiteboys, like the mercenaries and other combatants, prepare themselves for battle with fightbrews, combinations of plants intended to raise their awareness, endurance, and fighting skills. Herbalism is the only form of magic presented in this fantasy setting, with the fightbrews in particular having a fierce effect on people's bodies, both when taking them and while dealing with the aftereffects. Teyr struggles with setbacks, corruption, and inconsistent allies, determined to improve the world if she can just overcome everything the world and Samma Khiese throw at her.--Frances Moritz Copyright 2018 Booklist
Library Journal Review
After recovering from her time as a mercenary during the war, Teyr Amondsen wants nothing more than to put danger behind her and create a trade route through the war-torn lands in the hopes that the levies she collects will enrich and benefit her people as well as introduce them to the larger, more civilized world. But the intended road is planned to run 500 leagues over mountains, plains, and bogs, to say nothing of through the lands of people who maintain old enmities and grudges following the conflict. Chief among those enemies is Khiese, a warlord and leader of the whiteboys, who raid and murder all who stand in the way of his kingdom building. In spite of the violence and mayhem, the real story is the love that Teyr holds for her kin and the surety she maintains that she can and must create a better life for them. VERDICT Selby has crafted a complex and dynamic novel, though the multiple plot lines, vast quantities of minor characters, and shifting time frames can be challenging to follow. The letters written between Teyr and husband Aude are the best part.-Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at -Anchorage P.L., AK © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
