This novel was a somewhat nice change of pace, considering that we have so many earth shattering stories to contend with, especially Children of the Serpent, which changed the whole outlook of the series in one single shot.

So, the fact that this novel was straight-forward was, in a way, kind of refreshing.

Eight months have passed between this novel and the last one written by Mark, Children of the Serpent.

A lot can happen during eight months, and hopefully some of the events that took place will be detailed in future novels.

It begins with a young Indian being hunted down by a group of warrior women, and leads into an encounter between the Cerberus exiles and a group of renegade Magistrates, who after the fall of the Baronies into pure Chaos, have decided to eke out a living as highwaymen and slavers.

It's through this meeting that Kane and company discover that the warrior women are linked with the Hellhounds, the former Magistrates, and a third party as well.

You have a Warrior maiden (well, considering what happened to her, you really can't call her a maiden now, can you?) named Catamount, who is after a sacred indian artifact.

It's not revealed until well over half way into the novel the reason she's looking for this artifact, or the motivation behind her throwing her lot in with the Millennial Consortium. You'd think that a proud, powerful woman like Catamount would never have anything to do with a man, especially a white man, but the reasons become quite clear.

I won't give away too much more of the plot, as what I have said pretty much covers the gist of it.

It was nice to finally learn about those behind the Consortium, and the plans that they have for the Outlands now that the Baron's have disappeared.

The author once again shows his knowledge of Native American history and mythology, blending both into a well written, exciting adventure.

If I had a single complaint, it would be how the novel ended. It seemed too abrupt.

As is the standard with all of The main author of the series novels, we have familiar interaction between the main characters, although some have begun showing signs of changes, like Lakesh - and this time because it's slow and gradual, it's not a bad thing. With his youth still more or less intact, he is taking more chances and heading out into the wilds with Kane, Brigid and Grant more often, and seems to be showing interest in his Eastern Indian heritage once again.

We have a powerful, exotic and beautiful woman introduced, one that may or may not be an enemy in the future.

The only thing missing was the really exotic location - we have had adventures set in space, on the moon, Mars, all over the world, even other dimensions and times.

Was it really a bad thing though? No, not at all. The fact that the novel dealt with Native American's made that pretty much impossible. So an adventure stuck pretty much in their own back yard was a nice change of pace.

I am interested in seeing if the villan, the Towasi, will return. It wasn't clear if this 'evil spirit' was destroyed or merely defeated at the end of the book.