Kirkus
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Second in the pseudonymous Farland's epic fantasy (The Runelords, 1998). Following the standoff between the Wolf Lord Raj Ahten and the Earth King Gaborn Van Orden, Raj Ahten ravages the south of Mystarria in the hope of drawing Gaborn into battle. But Gaborn seeks to protect his people by Choosing, mentally bonding, with them. His Earth powers also warn him of an altogether different peril, one that will require his and Raj Ahten's combined forces to overcome. But the Wolf Lord rejects the alliance and orders his flameweavers to summon a Darkling Glory, a dreadful magical creature of Air and Darkness. Meanwhile, orc-like reavers and reaver mages, driven from their subterranean fastnesses by a world worm so huge that volcanoes erupt through the tunnels it gnaws out, swarm out of the north. The attractions are indisputable: substantial plotting, inventive magics and enough fighting to gratify the most bloodthirsty fan. Equally clear are the drawbacks: anonymous characters, and that perennially dangling finish.