EDIT: 
 I've changed my star rating from 3 to 2. I'm devastated that I've realised how much this book has let me down. I started reading The Will of the Empress again and I saw and remembered some of the things Briar says he went through. NONE of which happened in battle magic. 
 He gives the impression of a long, epic war. The reality was a battle or two... 
 Unless, as my friend suggests, that happened after this book. In which case why write this at all? All the major plot points happened off page. It seemed like we missed it all. And to top it off, when it was time to go to sleep, I PUT THE BOOK DOWN AND WENT TO SLEEP! <-- This is not a tamora book. 
 (view spoiler)[ What gets me the most is that the captivity Briar had to create a safe haven of Discipline cottage in his magic for never happened, this is a major point in his character bio and I just dont get it!!! Even if she forgot, editors and publishers are PAID to notice this. Forgetting the gods would not have made the battle so much worse to them, I wont accept it. 
 And the kind of man the Emperor is, he'd end up blaming them for his defeat, he'd go after them once more, he'd build himself up to it. He'd think he could. Why? BECAUSE HE NEVER SAW THEIR DEVASTATING POWER! Why was this? No idea. (hide spoiler)] 
 Will probably curse this book a few more weeks, then refuse to accept this book as a tamora/emelan book 
 ORIGINAL: 
 Kinda sad as this wasn't as good as I'd hoped/come to expect of Tamora Pierce / Briar Moss. 
 This is a prequel of sorts, to The Will of the Empress, set two years before, (two years after Street Magic) we finally get to see the horror's Briar lives through every night in his dreams. Except...the way he talks of it in Empress lead me to believe it was horrific. This wasn't horrific at all. Not for him. Yes I understand he's a sensitive boy no matter how he tries to hide it and often takes the pain of others into himself, but what he went through in Battle Magic was no worse than what he'd been through before with the pirates and the plague,just a wider scale. After the mess he (And Evvy) made in Street and the mess he and the girls made in Empress, this was a little underwhelming. 
 This is not to say it was in any way terrible. It was a good story, but.... 
 I am left wondering if the wide open ending was due to an over looked personality flaw in a character, or possible fodder for another book. Here's hoping the latter. 
 I was also left feeling bereft! We never get to see Evvy and the girls meeting. What a meeting that would be. Perhaps after Empress, a short will be written when they are all together again....