This is the story of an ordeal–a tale in which physical endurance
against the harsh elements and wild beasts is key. Man against his
environment. And the thing about ordeal stories is that it takes
endurance to read them. I’ve always liked Cherryh’s books, but I’ve
always had to be in the right mood.

The main character, Marak Trin Tain, is a great warrior. His world, a
desert planet settled by humans in the distant past, is but sparsely
populated. There are the tribes, nomads who live in the deep desert; the
villages, each centered around its spring; and the holy city of Oburan,
where dwells the Ila and her ministers amid riches of water. The Ila,
somehow, is immortal; she is apparently one of the “first descended” to
this planet, and she has made it and its people in her image.

Until recently, Marak Trin Tain has been leading his father’s men in
rebellion against the Ila. The rebellion failed, and to buy peace his
father has sold him to the Ila. He is taken to Oburan with one thought
in his heart: to kill the Ila. He doesn’t manage it, of course; it would
be a short book if he did. Instead, she sends him to seek out the source
of the Madness that has come upon many of the people of the Ila’s
world–a madness that has come upon Marak himself, and which draws him to
the east.

And then the ordeal begins.

Cherryh has crafted an interesting world with a unique history, and a
unique premise–at least, I’ve not encountered it before. A culture
which possesses the secrets of both nanotechnology and genetics may well
use them to make war. And the fiercest battles may not take place across
nations or continents, but instead within the confines of a single human
body.

I was in the right mood; I liked it. And it’s the beginning of a series
(though it stands alone perfectly well), so I’m looking forward to the
next book.