This was an interesting read. I'm a big fan of OSC, but my biggest complaint is that his books are pretty predictable. This one wasn't. It is written almost in the style of a myth or legend; the entire tale is being retold by one of the characters to another, and the feats achieved by the main characters certainly represent the heights of both heroism and evil. I felt the most connected to Orem, but OSC also gives you an insight into the lives of Palicrovol, Beauty, and Weasel. It's a twisted tale, and the end perhaps leaves something to be desired, with a "The Lady or the Tiger?"-type non-ending.

I did enjoy it, moreso by the end than I would have thought at the beginning. It's a new direction for Orson Scott Card, at least from what I've read.