It’s quite difficult to write a prequel and, for all that Pierce mostly succeeds in making the story about “how these people came to he who they are” rather than “what’s going to happen,” the absence of narrative tension is still felt.
We don’t get a chance to decide how we feel about these characters, because we already know them intimately. Baby Numair is actually the easiest since calling him Arram makes it easier not to associate him with Daine’s future teacher. The rest...to know a person’s fate is a heavy burden and it lets us judge them not for who they are, but for who they become.
And I am not, honestly, interested in the story of how Ozorne becomes the Emperor we know and hate. The story of how those in power turn their loss and grief into anger and evil is not that interesting. We know the seductive vices that let those teetering in the middle of the road fall. Damnit, I just want more stories of people in power choosing to be good!
Pierce is a bit formulaic at times, much of Numair’s early life feels like Beka’s and Kel’s, and even Daine’s. Troublesome magical animal, dealing with school-bullies, close encounters with confusing divinity, etc. There is something nice about variations on a theme and it’s easy to feel betrayed when an author does something unexpected. And overall I really liked a lot of it.
But I also want to feel a bit surprised once in a while.