This book felt surprisingly short, for a Michelle Sagara book, though not short for almost anyone else. ;) We learned a lot about the Dragons in this book; not so much about the workings of the Dragon Court, per se, but about the mechanics of the Dragon species. I'm still waiting to hear more about the history of how the Emperor became the Emperor. A new, highly entertaining character was introduced, and the long mystery of the apparently all-male Dragon court was discussed. There was also some good stuff about Ravellon and Makkuron, which I'm always excited about.

Nightshade fans, however, will be disappointed as he makes only a very brief, and mostly scoldy, appearance in this book. However he does seem to set up a much more expanded role for himself in the plot of Cast in Peril, and I'm very much looking forward to that. Also Kaylin and Severn have a nice talk about "feelings" that I can't help but wonder if it was thrown in to quell the continuing confusion in Michelle's discussion group over just what exactly happened to Kaylin in Barren and how that effects her ability to love anyone. A bit on the nose for some fans perhaps, but I APPRECIATED IT. ;)