A Tapestry of Magics is Daley's answer to Roger Zelazny's Amber series, positing a realm (The Singularity) that is the center of all realities, where beings from other realities--times and places well-known to Earth--can wander in and out. It's less philosophical than Zelazny's work, but also a great deal more light-hearted and fun than his as well.

The book starts rather slowly with a pair of brothers dealing with an invasion of barbarian lizard-riders; Sandur, the elder, the "Outrider" beloved of father and country alike, and his younger sibling Crassmor. The later portions of the book treat Crassmor's maturation into a full-grown Knight of a decidedly roguish bent, and of a plot to destroy the singularity.

Like Kim Newman's "Anno Dracula" series, there are a number of cameos from various historical periods and myths that pop up; I won't ruin the surprises or fun of spotting them, but it definitely adds a dimension of enjoyment to the book trying to figure out who these turn out to be.

In the end, the novel reads like a condensed trilogy, and it certainly was written with the hope that there would be sequels; not all threads are tied up, and the close of the story finds Crassmor embarking upon another adventure; one, sadly, we are never destined to discover. ( )

Possibly the most beautifully described world in science fiction or fantasy. Tapestry is a wonderful book. ( )