This book has taken me a LOOOOOOOONG time to get through. I keep getting distracted by other books. I didn't have the same problem with "The Mountain's Call" which further solidifies my belief that this book falls far short of its predecessor. The bar set by "The Mountain's Call" has not been reached by its sequel, which is unfortunate.

There are just too many predictable things going on. Valeria is of course the focus, and her magic is never really in question, but of course she makes some stupid decisions that drive the mediocre plot. Of course she's disregarded by the other Riders. Of course Kerrec completely breaks down. Of course she meets up with Euan. Kerrec is becoming irritatingly predictable. The horse-gods are playing havoc with Valeria without bothering to even try to convince the other acolytes (er, the Riders) of their will, and through it all, that little spell that was never really explained, the Unmaking, threatens from the sidelines.

There's something about the stubbornness of the Riders that really gets on my nerves, because they seem so rigid and undefined. They have basically no personality. It's hard to care for any of the characters anymore, when Valeria is so obviously much more powerful than anyone, yet no one likes her, Kerrec is falling apart at the seams, Gothard is so... stereotypical in his evilness (it's like the author is bashing me over the head with why I should despise him; he has NO redeeming qualities at all, and almost seems Evil For the Sake of Being Evil, except he's more of Evil For the Sake of Vengeance Because Everyone's A Meany-head.) and the Imperial Heir is curiously abandoning her royal post in the early goings. So where's the Emperor in all this, one wonders.

I don't know, the characters just really got on my nerves, and Gothard especially... just because he seems too cliche for my tastes. Euan is the only character who got much exploration, in my opinion, and he was already a fascinating one as it was. For as refreshing as this whole novel series started out (about halfway through the first book) it's rather become a disappointment to me. I hope the third book, "Shattered Dance," can revive my faith. As it stands now, this series is a little too cliched for my tastes.

Perhaps, though, my biggest complaint about this whole series is that the magic itself isn't very well defined. I keep finding myself saying "What does this magic do? What does the author mean when she says 'The Door of Time'? Why do the stallions need riders in The Dance, if the magic is within the stallions themselves? What kind of magic is this? Where does it originate from? Is it greater than Gothard's stone-magic? Why should the Empire give a damn about the Mountain and its magic? What are the rules of this magic, and why are the rules being broken so easily and at will? Why is Valeria so special that only she and no other can control all the stallions?" If the author can take some time to explore the purpose and rules of this magic, maybe it'll help, but I'm floundering, trying to figure out why I should care what happens to the Mountain. At this point, I'm with Gothard: Unmake the world, and start all over again.

So much better than the first one (in comparison). Well at least more memorable. That though, does not mean it is the best book I have ever read. I was relieived to find that flow of the writing was pleasent, and it carried on well, if not rushed at times.

It gets complicated, but not in a way you have to read back,and I, an avid reader who tends to have a lot of time on my hands, read it in about a day.

You can (figuratively) knock yourself out with this book. It's entertaining and alot of fun.