This was a very solid YA fantasy novel; it hit all the right notes and I enjoyed the attention to statecraft and not merely treating the main characters well, but focusing on larger political problems. The cynic in me thinks that things worked out surprisingly well, but the rest of me is pleased with how Golding negotiated between the implicit promise that everything will work out okay and the intricacies of politics.
A book that made Shabbat go by faster. And, really, is there any more to ask?