4.25 A good, very unconventional fantasy story. As in the first two books, there's ancient history and magic at the centre of the tale. The characters are rounded and serve to surprise the reader a couple of times. Unfortunately, the protagonist is a little more boring than most of the others (no Caz or Ista) and I would have liked to see a bit more from the female lead. Still, it's head and shoulders above the usual and a very enjoyable if somewhat darkish read.