I went into this book having no idea it was a prequel, or even that it was a part of a series, and really enjoyed it. It's not perfect - a couple characters are somewhat inconsistent in their actions and their motivations are shaky - but remains a very engaging read.

What really drew me in to this one was the world that Staveley has crafted. Possibly because this was a smaller scale story than the main novels in the series, the world feels much larger than the story, in the best way. Rather than sluggish exposition, the world is revealed more gradually and naturally; the mythology of the setting is excellent.

This book also successfully avoided my least favorite part of the Farseer Trilogy; it promises a main character that is an assassin, and *actually delivers*, unlike Robin Hobb's "Assassin's Apprentice".