Hardcover, 629 pages
English language
Published Nov. 7, 2010 by Orbit.
Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals. But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
The book is good fantasy, although it has its faults. I didn't connect to any of the characters much, and the book does slow down at times. A few chapters here and there should have been pruned, perhaps. The magic system was good, but not great. I might take a while to get to the second book (which is already out).
This is truly the start of something epic to get your teeth into. With particular attention to deviousness and a roundabout approach to the truth from all players, there's some serious magic, action and drama going on in this world. Utterly loved it.
