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Rating: 
Summary: Superb
Review: I picked this up, from a local bookstore's sale rack. I did not realize that it was the second installment in a quintet, until I finished reading it. Mr. Duncan does such an excellent job of writing that the story can nearly stand alone, and in the context of the series the book gains even more depth and vision.I have since tracked down and purchased all of the novels in hardback, since I consider them an essential part of my fantasy collection. As I said in my review of the first book, this book is a shining example of the high fantasy genre, on par with, if not surpassing Tolkien. Combining lively, likable characters, a grand and tangled plot, and a vivid world this book is superb.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: I picked this up, from a local bookstore's sale rack. I did not realize that it was the second installment in a quintet, until I finished reading it. Mr. Duncan does such an excellent job of writing that the story can nearly stand alone, and in the context of the series the book gains even more depth and vision. I have since tracked down and purchased all of the novels in hardback, since I consider them an essential part of my fantasy collection. As I said in my review of the first book, this book is a shining example of the high fantasy genre, on par with, if not surpassing Tolkien. Combining lively, likable characters, a grand and tangled plot, and a vivid world this book is superb.
Rating:
Summary: This is what a book should be like
Review: This is the sequel to Dave Duncan's superb novel "Cutting Edge". One of DD specialities is preventing a second or third book in a series from being stricken by the notorious "sequel - syndrom". He keeps up with the high standard he set in "The Cutting Edge". He really must have thought about the story thoroughly before he wrote it, because there are no logical flaws in it as in some other sequels (by other authors, of course). I hope all of his future books will be of the same quality as this one. If you enjoy fantasy, humour, intelligent writing and fun this is the one for you.
Rating:
Summary: This is what a book should be like
Review: This is the sequel to Dave Duncan's superb novel "Cutting Edge". One of DD specialities is preventing a second or third book in a series from being stricken by the notorious "sequel - syndrom". He keeps up with the high standard he set in "The Cutting Edge". He really must have thought about the story thoroughly before he wrote it, because there are no logical flaws in it as in some other sequels (by other authors, of course). I hope all of his future books will be of the same quality as this one. If you enjoy fantasy, humour, intelligent writing and fun this is the one for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of a series
Review: While I loved the light touch and deft humor of the first series (Man of His Word), this series has a much darker and heavier tone. Duncan pulls it off in the first book (Cutting Edge), introducing more nuanced characters than the first series. But he goes completely off the rails in this book (and its successors). First of all, the first 20-30 pages are almost an exact retelling the of end of the first book. Next, he bounces us from character group to character group never allowing the reader to get involved in anyone new. Characters that we knew in the first series act in strange ways. And finally, the series takes dark turns and with the lack of sympathetic new characters, the turns are fairly pointless.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of a series
Review: While I loved the light touch and deft humor of the first series (Man of His Word), this series has a much darker and heavier tone. Duncan pulls it off in the first book (Cutting Edge), introducing more nuanced characters than the first series. But he goes completely off the rails in this book (and its successors). First of all, the first 20-30 pages are almost an exact retelling the of end of the first book. Next, he bounces us from character group to character group never allowing the reader to get involved in anyone new. Characters that we knew in the first series act in strange ways. And finally, the series takes dark turns and with the lack of sympathetic new characters, the turns are fairly pointless.
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