I have read almost all of Feist's many novels set in Midkemia and have found most of them good or very good. As long as you skip the "Krondor:...." trilogy, you are safe. this book is billed as the last in the Conclave of Shadows trilogy, but it reads as a fairly independent novel from the first two as Talwin Hawkins has only a small part. interesting in that this story is told from the point of view of the villain in the first two novels. it reads almost like a travelogue through the first dozen books, with references to almost every major battle and event of the past. the story itself is pretty good, although the redemption of Kaspar drags a bit. in the end, the book reads mostly as a set up for the next trilogy, of which at least two books are already out. on to the future!