Over a century has passed since the exile of the Black Road, an event half-forgotten by the southern clans, now called the True Bloods. The clans' alliance has grown uneasy, and this weakness is exploited by their ruler, High Thane Gryvan oc Haig, who craves the power of a king. Gryvan attacks one of his own clans, seeking both the ruin of its insubordinate thane and the destruction of the fighting men drawn from his independent-minded northern clans, the Lannis-Haig and Kilkry-Haig Bloods.

In the north, the Lannis-Haig Bloods enjoy peace and prosperity. Thane Croesan oc Lannis-Haig plans a great Winterbirth party to honor his Blood and his new grandson. His brother, Kennet nan Lannis-Haig, lord of Castle Kolglas, is recovering from the depression occasioned by the fever deaths of his wife and son. His surviving son, Orisian, and daughter, Anyara, feel genuine relief when Kennet attends the holiday celebration. But the festive pleasure of the Lannis-Haig Bloods turns to horror as Winterbirth ends in treacherous violence.

Now Thane Croesan is besieged. Lord Kennet is dead. Orisian is in flight and badly wounded, perhaps dying. His sister, Anyara, has been taken captive. High Thane Gryvan sends no troops to aid the north, though the enemy assailing the Lannis-Haig Bloods is an undreamed-of alliance of mortal foes: human and elf. The humans are the Black Road Bloods, who are returning to the south with the implacable goal of conquering the True Bloods and ending the world.

Putting the epic back in epic fantasy

Brian Ruckley's debut novel, Winterbirth, launches not only the Godless World trilogy but the new American incarnation of the United Kingdom's venerable SF/F publisher, Orbit Books. In their attempts to make Winterbirth a smash hit, publicists on both sides of the pond have invoked the names of nearly every best-selling high-fantasy novelist from Tolkien on. This pushes expectations higher than the moon's orbit. Can Winterbirth live up to them?

Ruckley's debut displays numerous strengths. He develops his large cast of characters skillfully, making them clear-cut and distinctive, and he gives both protagonists and antagonists a realistic mix of good and bad traits. He doesn't hesitate to kill off important characters. His worldbuilding suggests considerable depth, and his complex layers of intrigue never entangle readers in confusion. He puts a few unexpected twists in his plot. And, while he confines his action to a handful of territories, he works on a grand scale, creating a truly epic fantasy.

However, Winterbirth also has several weaknesses. The opening is slowed by the need to set up a complex situation and introduce numerous characters. The pacing sometimes drags, as the characters spend a fair amount of time fleeing foes or seeking them. Many names are bewilderingly similar: Clans have names like Haig, Lannis-Haig, Kilkry-Haig, Dargannan-Haig, Ayth-Haig and Taral-Haig, while individuals have names like Taim Narran, Orisian and Inurian. Female characters are few and, while most of them are strong, only one has a significant viewpoint, and she's the least interesting of them. Some readers won't be pleased at the novel's avoidance of grand, flashy magic (though others will find this a relief). And Aeglyss, a troubled character of mixed human-elf parentage, doesn't appear nearly as often as the other antagonists, though by the end of Winterbirth he's the most powerful of them.

Inevitably, perhaps, Winterbirth doesn't live up to the hype. However, the strengths of Winterbirth overcome the weaknesses, and the author delivers what high-fantasy readers want: a big cast of interesting, sympathetic characters involved in complex, intelligent action and intrigue. Brian Ruckley's debut may well give Orbit USA a major best-seller.