A lovely, bittersweet tale with intrigue, lost love, the price of duty and loyalty all mixed in. The character are great, multifaceted and even the ones you want to dislike (the Queen, for instance) you end up having sympathy for. The world is fascinating, the gulf between sorcerers and humans drives the plot and it comes to a successful conclusion as one character manages to straddle the divide. I was sad when it ended, but it was satisfying.