I didn't understand it was the second book in a series when I got it through ER. I started it, it seemed like it would probably be okay to read without the background, but didn't catch me enough to make me say "I should go read the first one" which didn't seem to bode well.

I greatly enjoyed this book. The main characters had a lot of personality and the plot flowed quickly. Despite the fact that this was the second book in the series, I was absorbed in the fantasy land that Nagata created. There were some dark moments, but they were balanced out with humor and the lively dialogue of the main protagonists, especially the poet Beyel. I would recommend this book to fantasy fans.

I got this from the Early Reviewer program so I haven't read the first book in the series yet but I really enjoyed it. Had no problem getting into the story and really enjoyed the characters and plot. ( )

The demon Dismay/Smoke is in what turns out to be essentially self-imposed exile from his native country. He's viewed as evil by those in power in the land of his exile. That's because he answers the prayers of abused women desperate to escape misogynistic violence. There's no shortage of such women in Lutawa, a land where oppression of women is such a bedrock of the culture and law that it's a capital offence to teach a woman to read. That could be the basis of a dull political tract, but fear not -- it's a highly entertaining "overthrow the evil ruler" quest fantasy. It's also the sequel to an earlier book, but I found that it worked well enough as a standalone. Occasionally I was left wondering about some detail of the world that must have been given in the first book, but in general Nagata feeds in enough backstory over the course of the book that all is clear by the end.

The book's theme is fairly dark, and the text can be dark to the point of disturbing in places, but there's nothing gratuitous about the nastier bits. And it's well leavened by humour and character development. It won't be to everyone's taste, and the pacing does suffer slightly from it being a sequel, but I liked this one a lot. ( )

Starting at book 2, i was actually comfortable reading without feeling like i lost any background. The story ran smoothly throughout. I enjoyed the book and would like to go back and read the first one. ( )