Karavans, by Jennifer Roberson

Karavans is certainly an interesting read. I loved the characters. The plot was gripping. The world wasn't just a clichéd Tolkien wannabe. It was a great read.

Unfortunately, there was one thing that bugged me; too many things were unexplained. What the the hell is a dioscuri? A Wikipedia search turns up Castor and Pollux, which makes me think it's some sort of synonym for demigod or something, but the book doesn't do that good a job explaining it. Also, what's the deal with the mysterious moving forest Alisanos (which is home to demons and such)? The book also has an annoying cliffhanger ending, which always kind of ticks me off.

There are, of course, sequels in the works, and I will probably read them, and they will hopefully explain some of these things, but it still just annoys me when things aren't properly explained and when novels use cliffhangers. It doesn't tick me off enough to give Karavans a bad rating, but it ain't getting a full five yo-yos. It gets four.