This is the first time I've felt let down by a Robin Hobb book. I found this book to be even slightly below the level of the decidedly lackluster Soldier Son trilogy. The reasons for this are three-fold: 1) this installment was much shorter and less complex than her other works, giving the reader less to sink into, 2) very little of the over-arcing story line actually develops in this book: it feels more like a placeholder for the next book than anything else, and 3) much of the tale follows my least-favorite of the characters rather than the ones the first two books led me to care about.

Still, there are redeeming aspects. If you're going to invest in reading the Dragon Keeper series, you're going to have to read it, but if you're new to Robin Hobb, stick with her earlier (and much more enthralling) works such as the excellent Farseer trilogy.