I'd like to give this 4.5 to be honest. I really enjoyed it and will miss the characters and setting now that it is over, something I remember feeling at the end of other Feist series (I have not read other works by Janny Wurtz). Altogether I found it very enjoyable and Kelewan has been a great, fantastical place to escape to during a not-so-fantastical period in my own everyday life.

I can't give it 5 stars as the story does get a little repetitive at times, the writing is a bit unsophisticated sometimes and some events seem too convenient and artificial. There is an odd inconsistency in the behaviour of the characters at points as well - they break ancient tradition, but then are sticklers for it the next second; they are great, merciful reformers then bloodthirsty killers that ignore the suffering of those around them. Sometimes I got a little tired of the underlining of the "Akoma honour" and (as with all of Feist) I find the fact that almost every single character excels in usually more than one thing gets a bit fatiguing after a bit. Contrasting it with the Abercrombie books I have read alongside, it underlined to me that this is a fantasy and I treat it as such, but sometimes it would make the story easier to swallow if some of the characters occasionally did a slap-dash job or things felt a little less perfectly set up.

That said, accepting it as a fantasy placed in an unorthodox setting and it hit the mark for me. Mara is a strong heroine without ever being obnoxious (although sometimes a little perplexing) and the other characters and their adventures are engaging. It's fun seeing the events of Magician from another point of view as well.

[BTW I listened to this on audio book and found myself "audience participating" after a while. Every time "honour" is mentioned I felt compelled to repeat it in best Tsurani accent, Sulan-qu was another one etc. Then there was the magician with the Scissor Sisters song title for a name...]