This book is so good! The characters are amazingly well-drawn, with characteristics both good and bad. The story line is interesting. Some of the plot lines are intricate and some are straightforward. The plot twists are limited and each furthers the story in a logical way. The world is fleshed out during travel, which is nice as you don't get a data dump. I thought the book was going to be a light read, which was silly since I have read this author before. Instead, I got a book that was layered, detailed, and thoughtful. The best part, however, was perhaps the letters written by the main character. Even though there aren't many, they reveal a sharp, cutting wit that the character never allows to be seen otherwise. Those letters were just a fun cherry on top. This book is hard to put down and it doesn't even use cliffhangers!

This classic tale of a young orphan out to become a knight after being inspired by meeting one feels like it could have been written in the eighties, which is both a plus and a minus. It's a classic tale for a reason, and the striving Ileth is easy to root for. The world-building and plotting of this book are great, and the dragons are extremely well done. I love that they were very much their own creatures, clearly intelligent but also clearly operating from a viewpoint alien to humans. I feel like the human characters could use more depth, actually, and that the social mores and expectations of the world would have benefited from a little more examination. Those also felt like a product of the eighties, which is the minus. I would recommend to fantasy/dragon enthusiasts, but I would not call it a must-read.