This was one of those ones I couldn't put down -- a few of the characters really hooked me, and the development of the threat was really well-paced and exciting (and when characters misunderstood the threats they were facing, Keyes didn't belabor the point -- he trusted the reader to remember the extra context we had without hand-holding, which I really appreciate). The cultures felt solid, and the religion (with all its local variation) was really nicely developed.

Four stars instead of five because (a) this volume doesn't feel self-contained -- all the major characters end the book clearly prepared to start act 2, rather than at a closing point; and (b) while this was a really good execution of the "totally male-dominated medieval Europe analogue" genre, and the women were strong within their social constraints, I'm still pretty tired of the social constraints as a trope.