** spoiler alert ** Definitly the best! I had fantasized about Royce being the heir, but so much seemed to prove that idea false - and then he really was the heir. Yay!

This book has it all: fighting, betrayal, drama, a wonderful plot, and awesome characters. It pulls you in just like the other two books, Theft of Swords and Rise of Empire, but is even better than its predecessors. I stayed up all night reading it, and was on the last chapter when I decided to sleep, as the words were turning blurry, mixing together on the page. As soon as I woke up the next morning, I finished it, and then became depressed for a while, since the series was over. :(

The way the story was crafted, so that every thing seemed to flow and was real, like watching a movie (but reading words instead of staring at pictures), grips the reader. I couldn't put it down. There is no reason for anyone not liking this book and falling in love with the characters, unless they're intreests were something way different, like psychology maybe, or biographies. Other than that . . . they will find this book a definite page turner. I won't write an overview of the plot, because so many people like to do that, but I will say that This is the best book I've read in atleast two years.