Another fun installment.

This middle volume carries the allegory of the power of one's will versus the power of fear a little further. It introduces a couple of new characters and the plot moves along quickly. It's been about fifteen years since I've read this series, so I've forgotten much of how the story gets to where it goes. It's been fun to rediscover. I am not certain how it can all be wrapped up in one more volume!

This book suffers a bit more from its own brevity than the opening volume. It is most damaging for the characters of Presea and Zagato's female disciple, who's name isn't even mentioned in this volume. The simple lack of face time on the page makes these characters only caricatures and plot devices. Any emotion or motivation for these characters really has to come from the reader. That's not an awful thing, but the story itself does suffer for it. There's really only space on the page for the main trio to develop in any meaningful way. This is more forgivable in the first book because it was an opening novel and it's to be expected that not everything will be explored at first. Pacing is an issue with middle installment, but it's not completely damning to the story. I definitely still enjoyed reading.