Now that I've read the whole trilogy--out of order I must admit--I consider this volume my favorite of the three. In the first volume we meet Eamon Goodman and follow his quick promotions in the Gauntlet army, from cadet to Hand. The third volume neatly ties up the story to a satisfactory conclusion.

In this volume we follow his career as Hand of the East Quarter of the city of Dunsthruik. He tries to balance his [now undercover] loyalty to the King with his supposed loyalty to the throned Master, without his "cover" being "blown." We follow Eamon in his first faltering days as Quarter Hand, witness his growing self-confidence, his innate goodness, unselfishness, and compassion for servants and townspeople shown in different incidents. He treats everyone like human beings, not scum; at one point he dines with a common family, in disguise. He thinks of others, in episodes such as his rescuing a small girl and her cousin from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in his district. He is not afraid of hearing opinions different from his, learns from them and becomes a beloved leader and people are no longer afraid of him. But the throned moves him on to the position of Right Hand, a promotion: the Master's powerful henchman and second-in-command.

Writing style and his character development were superb. After reading this volume, I feel taken as a whole, the trilogy could be considered as a modern classic, in the C.S. Lewis vein of unobtrusive religious undercurrent. All three volumes maintain the same high quality. This is one series which SHOULD be read in order to get the most out of it.

Highly recommended. ( )

After finishing The Traitor's Heir (the first book of the trilogy), I felt compelled to continue reading the tale of Eamon Goodman.

I felt the flow of the text improved in this volume and a gripping story developed - so much so that I ordered the third volume which I am currently reading and expect I'll review in due course!

In both the second and thrid volumes of this fantasy trilogy, the switching between allegiance to The King or The Throned makes a lot more sense - in the first book it sometimes felt as though Eamon switched sides too easily - now, you get a much better sense of the struggle he has.

Volume two really develops Eamon's character - you start to understand that he is a 'good man' but with very difficult choices to make. ( )

Perhaps I would have enjoyed this book more if I'd read the first one, but I got this as an Early Reviewer book so I didn't have that opportunity. I found it a bit stilted and hard to follow at times, a little slow and a bit unclear about who the characters were and how they related to the main character. As I said before, however, some of this was probably due to the fact that I hadn't read the first book in this series, although there should have been enough exposition provided that I could cobble the plot together on my own. I didn't understand why the villain was so hated, I didn't understand why the main character was so devoted to the ousted King, or what the King's powers were, or what this mysterious blue/red light magic stuff was or why people were put to death for using the wrong kind. Horrible lack of exposition. ( )

First off, I haven't read the first book, so I'm starting midway into this trilogy. It is NOT a stand-alone, nor is it one that you really can skip the first book and feel you haven't missed anything. This is a series that needs started from the beginning to really grasp and understand the characters. This book is nothing more than a mid-way book and more like a bridge for the third and final book of the trilogy.

With that said, it was still an enjoyable read. I enjoyed it enough to want to start at the beginning and go all the way through. I had to take it slow though, as it was complex and not a quick read in any way, shape or form. The author is inspired by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and I think her style reflects this.

Be aware, this is a Christian fantasy series, but is not "in your face" Christian. It has all the great elements: good, evil, hero, villain, and lessons to be learned.

I'm anxious to start at the beginning now, and may come back and change this review as I understand and develop a more solid view of the characters in this series. ( )

I normally don't read a lot of fantasy, but this was a really good read. The writing was so vivid that I had no problem picturing this land and people from the first page.

The book does a great job of presenting the struggle between heart and head and the sacrifices that must be endured for the greater good.

It also shows that leaders can be dedicated to improving things under their control for no other reason than to see their charges happy. ( )