This is a book on the grand scale: a vast and profound amount of research, a theme which reverberates throughout and in some ways reaches into the present day and a fascinating light on an extraordinary and intricate civilisation close to its gods, its myths and the mysteries and magic which sustain them.
It is the ninth century and we are back in the ancient Chinese Empire, following the Silk Road, where dragons once roamed and now the dragon horses, led by Stargazer, await their call in the Plain of the Dead. Ancient evils are stirring: a mighty battle is imminent, which will be fought by proxy by humans. Behind everything is the shadowy fellowship of the one-eared Hares, with a mysterous, arcane influence of their own.
In the trading city of Macaranda, two brothers, An Lushan and Rekshan, sons of Naha the great trader, do not yet know they will be major players in the coming war. Lodging in the household with them is Lanxiang, grand-daughter of Sarangerel, spellweaver and shamaness of the Darhad, nomads from the north. Naha is arrested: the two sons know they must leave. An Lushan goes with Lanxiang to the lands of the Darhad with a trading proposition centred on the sacred Dark Forests. Rekshan makes for the Flame Mountains and then the plain of the Dead to find the mighty stallion Stargazer, Lord of the horses, as the storyteller Shou Lao told him. Both boys set out with goodwill: their subsequent histories are very different.
The subsequent action is extraordinary, leading to a titanic, even disturbing conclusion. The intricacy of the plotting and the evocation of atmosphere are superbly done. But every big book brings its attendant difficulties. I am hugely impressed and respectful of the whole dizzying structure. However, I am, I think, an experienced reader, yet I still sometimes found it rather heavy going. But I suspect that young readers may have more stamina than I have, so all should be well.