I was hesitant to read this because of my issues with the previous book, but this was much, much better. Nothing groundbreaking about the Southern Continent's cultures, but Chaol's healing journey was more than enough to hold my attention (as in, I stayed up until 2:30am on a work night to finish it in one go). This book made me excited about this series again. If you're also hesitant because of how the previous books went, give this one a chance. It won't please everyone, but I was pleasantly surprised.