Rating: 4 stars (Spotlight Review)

The world of their ancestors is long gone but the people of the rasnan haven't forgotten it. The stories say that the old world was left behind as it had been shattered by magic and technology. As such the rasnan is a world of strictly curtailed science and exploration is all but forbidden. Some though desire to leave their current home, either for unknown shores away from the island rasnan or back to the world that spit them out so long ago.

The constructs that they raise to do this, and the individuals involved in the underground plots could together bring down the world around them. When they raise their shadow-engine they have no idea what they've really done.

Written in a vaguely steampunk atmosphere, elements of fantasy, sci-fi, and pseudo-eastern mythology are combined in Holly Phillips' brave effort. The story takes place in the shadowy realms of slum cults and tower rooms. The caste system is harshly displayed between the slum-born, novice priest Moth and the high-born and analytical leader, Lady Vashmarna. Both women are integral to the success or failure of the plots to leave the island and both have their own agendas.

Though the book can be confusing at times, that can only be expected from any new efforts at world-building. I give praise to the author for going outside the usual character-type and using individuals of an an entirely Far East/Asian descent. It's a nice break from the usual Anglo-Saxon, European, and American based fantasy. I hope to see more from the author in this vein.

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Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Pub. Date: November 2008
ISBN-13: 9780345499653