The war between the "Faithful" (the Ben-Elim) and the "Fallen" (the Kadoshim) was prophesied long ago, and the time has finally come. This is a classic "good vs evil" battle, although the cast of characters on the side of evil don't see it that way. Nathair has been convinced for a while that he is the Bright Star, the avatar of good, and he has shown a willingness to do whatever it takes to make that a reality. Of course, there are plenty of hints that he is likely the Black Sun, the champion of the evil god Asroth, who is also known as the Great Deceiver. So while there was a lot of jockeying for position and forming of alliances in the first book, in this book the sides start to clearly take shape and it is obvious that the God War is indeed a reality for the Banished Lands.

This is a classic old school fantasy series that starts with old prophecies coming to life, and the required young boy being bullied coming of age. The Banished Lands are ruled by competing kingdoms, loosely aligned under a High King. An alliance not strong enough to withstand the prophesied God War and it doesn't take long for the bickering to begin. The human kingdoms are not alone in this as the Giants that used to inhabit the Banished Lands are also aware of the prophecies. Giants are much longer lived and they remember how to use the old magic, so their return just complicates things even more. This gives the Banished Lands a lived-in sense of history as ancient grudges, changing loyalties, and conflicting interpretation of prophecies create a complex tapestry ripe for story telling.

Demir Grappo is a powerful glassdancer and a successful military leader, even at his young age. Despite these innate talents and abilities, he has a solid moral compass and he shows unusual compassion to the rebellious factions that he is sent to put down. Such talent and promise breeds jealousy, and when a political rival maneuvers to turn his greatest military victory into a bloody massacre caused by his own troops, he mentally breaks. The emotional toll of what happened under his command is just too much to bear and Demir walks away from everything, including his eventual inheritance, to live out his life as a grifter. That is until his mother, a powerful political figure and head of his family, is murdered on the city streets. Demir returns from exile to use the resources of his family to uncover the truth about his mother's murder, and of course things get complicated very quickly.