The Brethen, guardians of Galea's Âratist faith, whose souls are continually reincarnated into new bodies, have sent Gyalo there to search for free Shapers, whom they fear as heretics and as a threat to their power. Gyalo finds Refuge and is sentenced to death by its people, but manages to escape while Refuge is ravaged by forces commanded by the Brethren and Santaxma, king of the land of Arsace. Gyalo is followed across the desert called the Burning Land by Axane, a woman of Refuge who has come to love him; she is also a Dreamer capable of seeing visions of far places while asleep.

As The Awakened City opens, Râvar, a survivor of the massacre that destroyed his home of Refuge, is followed by an army of disciples out of the Burning Land. Râvar, whose considerable unchecked powers as a Shaper have grown, has proclaimed himself the true Messenger of Ârata, the sleeping god worshipped by all Âratists. Râvar's followers, believing in his message that Ârata is now awake, and unaware that he is bent on avenging the death of his people, gather more worshippers as they move north toward the capital city of Ninyâser and the holy city of Baushpar. Râvar is also seeking Axane, all that is left of Refuge besides himself, and their daughter Chokyi.

In the meantime, Gyalo and Axane, having escaped imprisonment, have been reunited and are leading peaceful and obscure lives in Ninyâser when Axane and Chokyi are suddenly abducted by men loyal to Râvar. Gyalo, who has been struggling with growing doubts about his faith and his purpose, must rescue Axane while hoping that his own powers as a Shaper will be enough to stop Râvar.

An original story filled with exotic detail

The Awakening City is a striking novel not only for the level of detail Victoria Strauss brings to her story, but also for the realistic complexity of the dilemmas her characters face. Gyalo suffers from doubts about his most closely held beliefs, while Axane is a skeptic who cannot share his faith. Râvar is a murderous and cruel antagonist who nevertheless will engage the sympathy of readers because of his own uncertainties and the source of his torment: the extinction of his people.

Among the other memorable characters who populate this novel are Sundit, one of the Brethren and narrator of several chapters in this novel; Vivaniya, another member of the Brethren who is converted by Râvar's claims; Santaxma, the overly proud and arrogant ruler; and Ardashir, whose devotion to Râvar is a tormented mixture of love, possessiveness and jealousy. Dramatic and panoramic scenes alternate with more introspective and personal ones; Strauss is equally gifted at depicting big moments and small ones.

What sets The Awakened City above any number of fantasies is the attention Strauss has devoted to the belief systems of her characters and the differing ways they approach those beliefs. These are people who are as passionate about their intellectual and spiritual dilemmas as their personal ones. Strauss' invented religion of Âratism allows for doubters, and her characters live in their world as many do in our own, without metaphysical certainty and with only the hope of doing what is right; hers is a fictional world that allows for ambiguities. This novel, and its predecessor, are both superb fantasies that deserve a wide readership.