So I should mention before I start this review that I am a huge Heralds of Valdemar fan. From way back in the day. Been reading them for years. Also I’m doing a reading challenge with the books this month.

That being said I have felt like, in the last five books or so, the writing had started to suffer from the dreaded series fatigue. You know. The thing that happens when a writer has been writing the same universe or characters for so long.

That being said, this book gave a much needed breath of new life into the series.

That was quite a nice surprise.

The basic premise of the book is a prince and his best friend (who are both spies in training) are called upon to go rescue a skilled assassin from the clutches of a evil neighboring nation. Of course, this being a Valdemar book means there is magic and demons and a whole host of other fantastical things you might not otherwise see in a book with that plot.

The book does start out off a little slow, but not so slow that you loose interest. For me it picked up speed and had me excited to see how it would end.

If you haven’t read from Foundation onwards, a few things won’t make sense. And yes, that is a lot of books to read (at least ten). This book does, however, provide a brief synopsis of the backstory and why it’s important, so you can skip all that extra reading if you want to. But why would you want to?

All in all, it’s a good book. I was pleasantly surprised by how it turned out. It’s a good lazy afternoon’s (and evenings) read!