I'm having trouble pinning down exactly how I felt about this book. On the one hand, it's a fairly standard action-fantasy. On the other, it's got some really interesting worldbuilding that makes me want a prequel more than I want a sequel. It was entertaining (my barometer for pure entertainment value being how often I read sections out to the husband--there was one really great chunk in this book that led me to do just that), but for some reason it took me longer to read than a 300-or-so page book ought to. It didn't leave me craving the sequel, but I'll probably read it at some point. 
 I guess that was a lot of words to say "it was okay." I wish I liked it more; it really did have some great characters and worldbuilding, and some really interesting politics (and sexual politics), but it's missing something sparkly to make it really stand out.