This was a good piece of fantasy. The world building was very well done and the story pulled the reader into the heart of it. The Empire has stood for hundreds of years but now some factions are beginning to question just how solid the tenets of the Empire are. Rhan, a young man with a gifted sense of smell is a finder. He looks for and finds ancient relics from before the daemon war when technology ruled. He is conscripted by the Empire to ferret out heretics along with Aerik, a young guide on the hunt. The two men feel an instant attraction and find that they also are questioning the clerical cannons of the Empire making themselves heretics and bringing down trouble on themselves. Both Rhan and Aerik are very likable as are most of the supporting characters. My only problem with the book was that it ended fairly abruptly. I've read several of Mr. Fox's books and have yet to be disappointed. He has a natural talent for fantasy and knows how to please his readers. ( )

The ending was somewhat abrupt. I hope there's a sequel. :) There were a couple too many descriptive sex scenes than I like to read--I skimmed through those. But I really enjoyed the world building and adventure. ( )

This is a fantastic gay romance based in a well-developed science fiction/fantasy story. I discovered Brandon Fox some years ago when I found his sword and sorcery trilogy. The cover art was awful, but I was delighted with the extremely well-written gay erotica I found inside. Sadly, those books are out of print. So, I was ecstatic when I learned that Dreamspinner Press was publishing a gay romance by him. They do high quality productions with beautiful covers, and this was no exception.

Rhan is a Finder - he searches for relics from the time before the daemon wars. He also has a heightened sense of smell. A gift that would have him culled as daemon-marked if anyone discovered it. When the empire drafts him to search for a heretic, he meets Aerik, a young soldier with an open-mind and open-heart. What begins as lust evolves into romance as their quest proceeds. There is explicit sex in the story, but the author takes the time to build the romance in a believable way. It was also refreshing to have a more realistic gay couple that is not based on the alpha male/small bottom cliché. Rhan and Aerik are equals in the relationship and in the sex. The romance was tender, sexy and very enjoyable, but the plotline was equally so. The world-building is well-defined and interesting, and the plot has some expected twists (such as the daemons) as the story unfolds. I was engrossed from the first page until the last.

Overall, this is an excellent novel. The conclusion is not exactly a cliff-hanger, but there will definitely be a sequel, which I hope Dreamspinner releases with all do haste! Highly recommended! ( )