I liked this story more than the first one, which I read earlier this month. There’s a 4-year time jump since the first origin-story novella, so by this point Penric is more comfortable with his station and his powers, and we’re able to get into the nitty-gritty of the plot, which I preferred. I also liked that there were more POV characters than just Penric in this one. The plot, while relatively simple, did resolve itself nicely, and there were a few moments that genuinely had me laughing. I liked seeing how everything came together in the end, and I liked the continued worldbuilding. Certainly I’m going to read at least a few more in this series, though I’m not sure if I’m up for all 13. Time will tell!