In the grand epic fantasy tradition, Martin is by far the best... tense, surging, insomnia-inflicting "Time Magazine" The sheer mind-boggling scope of this epic has sent other fantasy writers away shaking their heads... Its ambition: to construct the Twelve Caesars of fantasy fiction, with characters so venomous they could eat the Borgias "Guardian" Colossal, staggering... Martin captures all the intoxicating complexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome in his imaginary world... The writing is always powerful... "SFX" Truly epic... with its magnificent action-filled climax, it provides a banquet for fantasy lovers with large appetites. Publishers Weekly --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.