Kind of boring. 
 And for a story set in a bloody war between the fictional equivalents of China and Tibet, full of the titular battle magic and starring two of the best liked characters in the Circle of Magic series, building up anticipation since Pierce's "The Will of the Empress" that isn't something you expect when you read it. 
 Not bad, but kind of boring. Glad to finally see what happened to Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy though.