It will never cease to amaze me how writers can take words, spin them and make you care about characters that exist only in books, make you care about the words these characters utter, how because of words on a page, you're rooting for a character to be better, stronger, braver. It's awe-inspiring and just amazing.

Robin Hobb is one of those writers that weaves magic with her words. and it's curious. It's not like her books; at least the few I've read have an insane amount of gore or are especially grim. But somehow, she captures the essence of a character so thoroughly. 

You can feel the selfishness of Malta, the apathy that dictated Keffria's life, the strength that was Ronica Vestrit, the confusion peppered with shadows of strength, wisdom, and the occasional dose of stupidity that was Wintrow, the stinking mess of insecurity that was Kyle Haven, the firecracker that was Althea Vestrit and the ships, gosh the ships.....

I sometimes felt descriptions ran a tad too long but having read the Farseer trilogy, I've come to recognize that as signature Hobb storytelling.

All in all a truly delightful book that does not disappoint.