Shaeli and her family fly through the Lands on their Trader, part of a vast Fleet that services the Four Lands and the Starisles. Shaeli's mother has delivered twins, yet one is the child of the dead king and his queen, hidden with them for protection. As Shaeli grows, she faces many challenges and meets many people; she finds an ancient wand in a riverbank; she talks with the elf, Williver, who comes to her in dreams; she saves the lives of her sisters, and even meets one of the fabled drell. During her time at Cave with the other children on the edge of adulthood, she discovers a gift for stone channeling, a magical talent usually given to elves. As the reign of the queen throws turmoil across the Land, Shaeli will leave all she knows to live in the shadow of Great Court with Flin, master thrower of skylights, with only her pet jevvi to comfort her. This first book of a trilogy is captivating and compelling, and I can't wait to keep going. Aiken is a great storyteller, and does a beautiful job of allowing the reader to see these fictional lands and feel the emotions of the characters and the intrigue of the story. Her imagination and descriptive details are amazing, and I can so imagine this being made into a wonderful movie. I'm so pleased to have been introduced to this series! I was taken with this book in the first few pages. I have read many Si Fantasy books and I would put this up there with Tolkien and Eddings for the way it keeps you enthralled. I had to stop myself from devouring the book to fast as i wanted the next book now. I think the Author R.L. Aiken has cleverly kept the suspense throughout the book but toward the end was captivating.I loved the characters and the suspense was well balanced. I just really enjoyed the whole concept of the Traders being on a balloon carried by wonderful birds, to amazing places with lots of characters, bring a real concept that kept me interested. A great book bring on book two of the Traders I really enjoyed the book. It was quite a departure from the normal ebb and flow of a book like this. The characters were very well developed and the action was well thought out and detailed. I liked the eclectic mix of magic and science and will not provide spoilers here. I have recommended this book to several people and am looking forward to the next volume. I think it should be geared towards late teens though adults will love it also (I'm 60 but young at heart).