" I'm a big fan of Robin Hobbs' other trilogies, especially the Farseers, but I didn't like this one as much. Hobbs didn't seem to do an adequate job of describing this "new world" and its fantastical nature, as she's done in other books. The characters are three-dimensional, but there wasn't really one that you can attach to or admire. The book also lacked action, which is probably partly because it's part I. I still want to read the other two books based on her past writing. "
— Mel, 2/18/2014