Review: The Wind that Sweeps the Stars

The Wind that Sweeps the Stars by Greg Keyes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was one of the most confusing and chaotic books I have ever read. What I disliked, deep fantasy lovers will find fascinating, so I do recommend this book to them. 

It also seems that there may be another book coming out based on this world with Yash and Chej.

Our female protagonist, Yash, changes—well, she changes sex, and I think she changes her shape, too, but because of the way this book is written, I can't be sure of that. Her 'husband' Chej, is the complete opposite of of Yash. Yash is a fighter, and I admire the fact that she is a strong female/male, but that is about all I admired in this novel.

We have time jumps galore, and some of them are interesting because they explain evolution. Mostly, though, the time jumps are annoying becuase they happen just as you really get into what is happening with Yash and Chej.

There are plenty of fight scenes and enough magic to keep those who are into deep fantasy happy.

There are so many characters that I couldn't keep straight who was a good guy and who wasn't. I stuck with this book, though, because some of it was interesting enough to keep my attention.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher Titan Books, the author, and NetGalley.

View all my reviews

SYNOPSIS: "A taut high fantasy as an assassin must destroy an empire from within, eliminating wizards, their demons, and even the emperor. For the lives—for the very souls—of her people, she must succeed within a single day, or her homeland will be destroyed.

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."