Oh. Just, oh. Please bear with me as I try to write a review that conveys what I feel about this book without giving anything away. I should probably start off by saying that I do like this series and that I do plan on reading the next book in this series (if there is a next book). With that out of the way, I feel free to say that I have a strong love/hate mindset toward this book. It started off as the perfect continuation to 'The Lost Gate'. The story carried on, not predictably, but within the realm of believability based on previous experience with the characters and world of the Mither Mages. Then, about halfway through the book, the whole thing went to hell. I can't really comment on how it went downhill, because it would spoil the whole book, but I can tell why it went downhill. Most of the trouble was caused by odd character development of some of the main characters. Specifically, some of the characters seemed to have split personalities, which might have been what Mr. Card was going for, but which did not work at all. In the end, most of these main characters made choices that felt like a betrayal to the very essence of who they had been made out to be in the previous book and the first half of this book. Also, the direction the story took in the last half of the book almost seemed like it had come from another book. However, even as I hated every word I read for the last half of the book, I still couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened! This begs the question; is the quality of a book determined by how much the reader likes what they are reading or is the quality determined by the reader's inability to put the book down? If I had rated this book based on my enjoyment of it, it would have only received 1.5 stars. If I had rated this book based on my inability to put it down, it would have received 5 stars. In my opinion, I believe it is a mix of the two qualities (among other things). Therefore, I have given this book 3 stars.