When compared to most of Brandon's other books, this one is much more like Warbreaker where the action is political in nature and contained within one volume. The magic system serves as a key principle and driving point of the plot but isn't actually viewed on scene for most of the book. We see and hear a lot of the effects of the magic, but its performance is left off-screen most of the time. The last quarter of the book serves for Brandon's typical, long climactic scene. However, the reveal at the end is a little too-quick and doesn't have as deep a setup as his later books. Watching the characters' arcs develop within one novel was new, as they have the scope of multi-volume epic characters in how much they grow. It probably feels new simply because most of what I read is multi-volume epic. I enjoyed this book, and it deserves all the critical acclaim it has received. Seeing where he started his combined universe, I can see better how each series' magic system is built on a common basis. Now I need to think more on how they all link together and what that may mean for future volumes in each of his series.