I just finished reading this, which took a really long time. Martha Wells is a very versatile writer--the Murderbot series is all quick hits and snappy dialog, a fun read. This one feels more like a masterwork in the making--no doubt Wells has huge files of backstory. Very little of that is in the book, you have to figure out the fantasy world as she describes it, which is fine. Wells is taking her time building characters--Demon and Prince of the 4th House Kaiisterion (Kai to his friends) being the protagonist, with fellow traveler Ziede (I never figured out exactly what she was, a Witch I guess?).
A lot of the book is driven by Kai's memory of events, and his speculations on what and who is driving them. The book opens with Kai waking up from an imprisonment that should have been impossible, and freeing Ziede from a similar imprisonment. From there we have a very slow build, first introducing the powerful factions, then watching Kai and Ziede narrow down who was behind their capture. There's not a lot of action in either of the parallel story lines until the last third of the book.There's a whole lot of potential here, you can see the scaffolding for the above-mentioned masterwork. This is one where the sequels could be better than the opener. This one feels like it's mostly introduction (through actions, but still an introduction).
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