If it hadn't been for the annual spfbo contest, this book would have sadly been left in the pits of obscurity among the ever increasingly huge array of quality self-published fantasy books out there.

I had this book on my TBR list for quite a long time and I always try to read spfbo books whenever I have the chance. I can instantly see why so many readers wanted to spread word of mouth for this novel.

The basic premise occurs in an Earth-like world during an archetype civil war USA era, where the initial war was due to religious differences instead of slavery. Our protagonist named Martha Childress was born into the affluent and extremely well-connected Cildra Clan, who pride themselves in the huge rate of gifted children with super powers over the regular population. Instead of having a 5% probability of being blessed with one of 5 different special abilities (Render, Weaver, Whisperer, Listener, and Shaper), the Cildra enjoy a whopping 80% rate of blessed among their children. Of course, they keep this knowledge a deeply guarded secret, and train their children from a young age to become spies.

After discovering she can turn her aura into different shapes and break her brother's nose, Martha and Carmichael are summoned by their father, expecting to be berated because she used her newly found Shaper ability in front of an outsider. Instead, he praises her talent and warns Carmichael never to pick a fight with a stronger opponent. The words were a haunting warning.

We are then told two separate timelines of Martha's depressing life: her youthful upbringing and her adventures where she gleefully rejects marriage proposals from countless male suitors of the Auld Lands (aka Europe), and her present ruined self as a bitter social outcast with a maimed body who was ordered to rescue a mysterious girl named Caddie and bring her to a city in her native Eastern lands, a place where if the locals discovered her identity, would ensue a guaranteed death sentence.

We are not entirely sure why Martha is both hesitant and eager to follow this strange mission, and if she should trust two mercenaries named Luca and Isabelle who seem equally annoyed to help her accomplish this task. The mysteries of Martha's current behavior are responded from the chapters that delve into her discovery as an Easterner spy upon her return to the capital of West Newfield, and her life as a Prisoner of War.

I would not like to spoil everything that happened to Martha during the war, I think her fascinating and bitterly sad tale should be left as a secret for the reader. I can guarantee that the story will not leave people disappointed, and I am certain that the sequel will be equally good.

If there was anything that sadly kept me from granting this book 5 stars was because there are multiple areas of the story with confusing paragraphs that diverted from the enjoyment of the story. I never really understood the difference between Glassmen and Render hunters, which has a certain importance in the plot. Furthermore, some phrases here and there were grammatically correct, but sounded clunky: make to make, where to there, etc... I think with a revision with a copyeditor and a rewrite of the confusing pieces of text, this book would easily be a 5 star read. I hope it gets picked up by a trad publisher sometime, because it was a fabulous read. ( )

While the beginning feels fairly amateurish, with lots of info-dumpy exposition and some very clumsy Civil War pastiche (that can seem in poor taste at times), the story picks up in the middle and can be quite interesting. The characters are interesting, and the "magic" unique, though it clearly is a lot to Sanderson.

There are a lot of typos, and some more strict editing would do a lot of good to flow, time and style. ( )