THE SKY BEGAN TO DARKEN AND A VOICE BOOMED BEHIND THEM
It was the lament of something that was less than a beast and more than a natural phenomenon, the unnaturally drawn-out moan of a fiend most monstrous and uncommon. The fleeing travelers turned, and saw at last what had tried to ambush them.
It advanced not in the manner of a living creature but in the manner of sand. It had no arms and then a hundred, no feet but one as wide as the base of the advancing dune itself. Everywhere and all of it was dark red, like all the rust that had ever afflicted the metals of the world squeezed into a swiftly shifting pyramid of rage. The dune howled and moaned and bellowed like some sky-scraping banshee unwillingly fastened to the Earth.
And in the midst of all that geologic fury, two-thirds up the face of the oncoming mountain, were two eyes …
“This odd and engaging fantasy has an apparently African setting, but … owes far more to Grimm’s fairy tales…. It’s a wondrous journey.”
“Top-drawer Foster, featuring a fast-paced mix of wry humor, high fantasy, and amazing new places and creatures.”
“Combines the flexibility of a picaresque adventure with the simplicity of a folktale…. This promising series opener belongs in most libraries.”
