This book, unfortunately, fell to the same curse as the Game of Thrones TV show: It starts incredibly strong, pulling you in with its ambience; then midway you start to wonder "Which of these characters am I meant to be rooting for? I don't know that I like any of them."; and by the end the author is patting herself on the back for the importance of storytellers, and it makes you wonder why you bothered sitting through this tale in the first place.