“So many of the outstanding plot threads were resolved at the end of the previous novel that they had to really work to pad this one out — and that’s forcing me, in turn, to pad this review out as best I can.”

“I really appreciate this book’s treatment of war. Unlike the War of the Lance from Chronicles, this war has no good side or bad side, nothing noble or worthwhile. At its core, it’s simply a bunch of desperately poor people killing each other over mouthfuls of food.”