He eventually learns that the person behind Edene’s kidnapping is also the same puppetmaster that’s been secretly pulling his uncle’s strings: Mukhtar ai-Idoj, a sorcerer secretly working to sow discord across the Steppes in order to resurrect the Carrion King, an evil power that the gods defeated ages ago.Īs Temur travels to stop ai-Idoj’s nefarious plans, he makes several allies. But in the aftermath of the battle, as he joins a refugee train heading for the mountains, events overtake him and he sets on a path to rescue his lover, Edene, who has been kidnapped by a supernatural force.

The death of the Great Khagan divided the Khaganate as two came forth to claim the Padparadscha Seat: Temur’s older brother, Qulan, and his uncle, Qori Buqa.Īs Range of Ghosts opens, Temur is one of the few survivors of the battlefield after his uncle’s victory over his now-dead brother. Re Temur is the grandson of the Great Khagan, whose empire stretches along the length of the Celadon Highway, fostering trade and accepting tribute. And instead of empires in the Middle East, Tibet, and China, you’ve got the Uthman Caliphate, the Rasan Empire, and the various principalities of the Song.

Instead of the Mongols, you’ve got the horse-loving, egalitarian, yet war-like Qersnyk who worship the Eternal Sky. Instead of the Silk Road, you’ve got the Celadon Highway. That’s why it’s so refreshing to read a series like the Eternal Sky trilogy by Elizabeth Bear: instead of using medieval Europe as the template for her fantasy series, she’s cast her eye far northeast and built an epic story based on the world of the Mongols and the Asian Steppes, with several imagined cultures standing in for those of our world. Unfortunately, Tolkien’s Eurocentricism has also become a trope: you can’t write a fantasy series where all the good (pale, tall) guys come from the West and all the evil (and dark-skinned) guys come from the East without deserving at least a little bit of side-eye.

When Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings, he popularized several concepts that by now have become fantasy tropes: magic, kingdoms and dynasties, a battle for the fate of the world, etc. I think I’ve learned my lesson about trying to review an entire series at once.

Note: This review is long and contains some spoilers.

Steles of the Sky by Elizabeth Bear