Woah! This book was such an amazing ride, and nothing short of a constant heart attack. 
 "The red and black traitor's arrow leapt across that narrowest of chasms: the distance between a wetboy and her deader. It cut a red path through the air as if the night itself were bleeding" 
 Although I missed Durzo for most of the book (the last page of the book had me screaming) I must admit that I now like and Kylar as well. As Vi says, sometimes he has such innocence about him to the point of being endearing. Besides the friendship between him and Logan was definitely beautiful and so was the relationship between him, Uly and Elene.(view spoiler)[ I was so sad to see Jarl die (hide spoiler)] 
 Talking about Elene, I really couldn't stand her pious shit or her until page 630 when she finally "gets it". 
 Back on track, Vi it's another character I liked even though I wasn't expecting to. I loved her cutting tongue. She is a skilled killer, harsh and brash but broken. However, the end she has the courage to hope and to act on it. 
 "Not only the winds but the spirits of the murdered were gathering to the general's voice, rising with the cadences of vengeance" 
 The Godking is not simply evil, he's a sick twisted freak and makes for an excellent antagonist. 
 Compared to the 1st one, the pacing of the book is faster since we are now in the middle of the action. But that's not all, there are still political intrigues, assassinations, battles, romance, infatuations, biting sarcasm and much more. At times the book is quite crude but it suits the world built by the author perfectly and it is just right (in this case, sugarcoating would have been ridiculous). One thing I appreciated was how casual sex, infatuations and occasional romances were never over-sweetened or excessively dramatized. Besides, the fact that the black ka'kari had a freaking sense of humour was terrific. 
 "So Kylar moved through the trees like the breath of a vengeful God, only rustling the branches in time with the evening wind" 
 Last but not least,the author has got better at describing action scenes, so this book definitely gets 5 stars from me.