Even a reader completely unfamiliar with Elizabeth Bear's work will be able to tell within the first few lines of Range of Ghosts that she is a seasoned professional. Her prose is lean, elegant and immediate; her world-building subtle and convincing. The world of the Eternal Sky is richly imagined, but Bear is careful not to offer too many details all at once. Rather, she allows us to discover this world as though we were travelers passing through, gleaning culture, history and mythology though its fabulous landscapes and the characters that people them.
Bear is not afraid to put those characters through hell, either: in the opening scene one protagonist staggers across a battlefield with a gaping throat wound; soon after, we encounter the once-princess Samarkar just as she's given up her ability to have children. Through their suffering, Bear's lead characters become sympathetic and accessible, and their ability ultimately to conquer the odds makes them believable heroes.
Range of Ghosts is, at its heart, a classic adventure story that calls on all of the old favorite tropes--good versus evil, the unlikely hero, swords and sorcery--and somehow makes them real, almost prosaic. The story never falls into the trap of melodrama, although the stakes are certainly very high. Instead, with patience and skill and a refreshingly light touch, Bear creates an absorbing universe that is easy to get lost in and difficult to leave. --Katherine Montgomery, book nerd