Tanya Huff's writing is very easy to read so I got through this book in two sittings. Really enjoyed the setting - a world where science with a sort of Victorian steam-punk feel coexists with real magic, and the two systems of power have not come to any kind of truce or resolution yet. The small country of Aydori sits on the edge of a large and hungry Empire which is rapidly developing its science and technology, and its Emperor has declared that the mages and werewolf packs of Aydori are "abominations", due no human rights or respect. (The magic users and werewolves within the borders of the Empire already are either in hiding or being eliminated also.) With this declaration, the Emperor now feels free to capture, experiment upon, and otherwise torture both mages and werewolves to try and learn more about them as well as to discover how to use technology to eliminate them most efficiently.

The story follows Miriam, a young student mage who isn't very good at any type of magic, and the chaos that ensues as the Empire invades Aydori and her family and the local ruling Pack have to flee. When Miriam witnesses the capture of the most powerful mages in the Pack, she gets sucked into the conflict as she has to decide who to tell or whether to try and help and how. The story alternates three main ways: following Mirim and Tomas, a young werewolf she rescues, as they try to figure out how to save the mages; the mages themselves (all women, mostly pregnant) as they try to resist their captors and escape the evil Emperor; and a captain of the Empire soldiers who is sent to capture Miriam but slowly comes to question what he's been told about the Abominations and has to choose whether to continue to support the Emperor or not. Of course, all three stories converge towards the end in a fairly satisfying resolution, although certainly leaving room open for more stories set in the same world if the author chooses.

It's not quite 5/5 stars as some of the characters' motivations seemed a bit inexplicable or overly simplistic, and there were no real surprises; it was fairly obvious all the way through what was going to happen at most major points. Still, it's an interesting world and a fun read and I'd like to read more about the particular mix of science and magic types in future sequels.