An orphan of unusual circumstances and more unusual talents who is driven to ferret out the secret behind his ancestry. The need to search for his own bloodline draws him to Ys, the Confluence's major city. The need to avenge his foster brother's death propels him toward the war that threatens to end the world. McAuley's creation is a strange, intense land. Violence and blind faith control virtually every aspect of society.
Barbarism thrives alongside the leftovers of a vanished, technologically-superior race.
This juxtaposition makes for a background unlike the usual settings in science fiction and fantasy novels. Child of the River introduces readers to an unpredictable world, where every character is like a different species. Yama's story appears to be just beginning in Child of the River . There is material aplenty to fill the coming volumes and mysteries yet to solve. Indeed, expect no neat resolutions in this first installment.