Ursula K. Le Guin, the author of the beloved and now-classic Earthsea Cycle, took a hiatus of 14 years before beginning this new series. As in her earlier work, she creates a strange and somewhat mystical world, without the epic sweep and bombast of high fantasy, and without the breakneck pacing of much of the genre since Harry Potter.

Instead, Le Guin takes the time to lay the groundwork for this story about feuding magic clans. She sets up a framing story: A visitor from the Lowlands must be told the history of the clans, their feuds, and their powers. Orrec explains in first-person, telling a story of a bleak, melancholy existence. Readers may at times be confused by the profusion of names and relationships, but they will be fascinated by the well-drawn world, and find meaning and resonance in Orrec's own story of shame and fear and self-imposed blindness.

This is clearly the work of a master, though it may not be to the taste of many of the fantasy fans weaned on more plot-driven, action-oriented fantasy. For those for whom "quiet" and "slow" are not terms of criticism, though, it's a rich and meaty tale.