“They’re taking the Ring to Mount Doom, but here it’s a person instead of a magic ring and an old chunk of marble instead of a volcano — and for all the sense it makes, they might as well be taking a fish to a Ferris wheel.”

“One big reason why this novel’s plot feels stronger than that of Dragons of Autumn Twilight is that we finally get some decent villains.”

“If there’s one truth about writing that I’ve learned from reviewing an nigh-infinite number of these novels, it’s that good characters can cover up a multitude of sins.”