A tough, skilled and rather clever dog sled courier is delivering a jar to a wizard. The jar turns out to contain the spirit of an ancient philosopher ascetic, who posthumously has decided he regrets his choices and now desires nothing more than to witness the excesses of human activity he denied himself in life. He also just won't shut up about it. They get attacked by warriors riding giant dogs, and then a sentient raven shows up and kills the surviving attacker before he can be interrogated. And that's the first 30 pages. In the next few dozen, we will meet an ancient flying city, a demon ape in a castle filled with the people it has killed, and a beautiful warrior who seems likely to be more than she seems.

At first glance, a basic sword & sorcery world wherein all characters are heightened, every culture rides a different kind of oversized animal (dogs, eagles, badgers, bears), the characters freely enjoy sexual encounters with a generous portion of the people they meet, and there are magical talismans and evil magic users to contend with. The book does, though, provide the central characters with a good measure of depth, put some thought into the dynamics and functions of the world, and it has a solid pace that keeps me turning the pages (as evidenced by my recap of the first 30, above). The sex -- while something I'm unaccustomed to in quite this level of detail -- is not speculative or any more gratuitous than the violence would be in most adventure novels. And the character relationships grow rather touching, all things considered. "The War of Powers" does not reinvent the wheel, but it does use a lot of well-worn spokes in fun combinations. I won't exactly be rushing to buy the second half of this saga, but I'm positive I will eventually do so. I'm pleasantly invested now and want to see how it ends. ( )

Not so hot. OK for a quick read & if you get the book cheap. ( )