The third in the unlikely to be completed Twelve Kingdoms series. As with the first two, this works pretty well as a standalone, with new characters, and just passing references for the most part to the previous two books. It's a solid story, overstuffed with characters in the first half -- twelve witch princesses, one for each kingdom -- and a surfeit of rules for magic, but it settles down and focuses in the second half, and ends well, if a bit hurriedly.

Recommended for Friesner and fantasy fans. ( )