Like some of the other reviewers, I've been a fan of this series from the start, and eagerly awaited the release of this, the third book in the trilogy. Not only do I find the world Lackey/Norton constructed fascinating, but it's a very different spin than other authors have given to human-elven-dragon interaction, and I love it. It should go without saying that no-one should read any trilogy-finishing book without first having read the preceding two in the series, but with the way Lackey and Norton wrote the second and third books, this is even more important. Although the dedicated reader gets the updates on existing major characters that he/she craves, a whole new host of characters and circumstances is introduced as well, making this book not only a delightful continuation of the first two, but surprising and even more complex than I imagined it would be. It was definitely worth the wait, but as always with books I love - too short! I think I finished it in seven or eight hours on one day, since I'm a fast reader. Now I'll have to wait for the next offering!