I will note to start this that I am very happy Night Shade Books is republishing some older Glen Cook material. They are going to reprint Passage at Arms and the Swordbearer (two much better stories than this one) soon and I can only hope the Starfisher trilogy, the Darkwar trilogy, stand-alone novels like the Tower of Fear, A Matter of Time, and the Dragon Never Sleeps are reprinted eventually along with their current effort on the Dread Empire stories. It is a crime that only the Black Company and some Garrett novels, along with his new series (Instrumentalities of the Night) are currently in print stop action aimed at locating and neutralizing the enemy sorceror and his accomplices.

Curiously, the characters seem disimilar to other Cook characters he has created over time, and somewhat more shallow. Some of this may be attributable to the ongoing action-sequences of the novel allowing little time for character development and exposition.

Spoilers

Unlike most cook stories, in this case the primary antagonist is a good bit 'less' pragmatic or realpolitikal than in his other stories. Rider's companions are captured on various occasions, yet never killed, even though Shai Kei repeatedly assassinates other members of the city elite. Some of this takes place even when his slave-woman is not in Rider's custody. Makes no sense, and that is unusual for Cook, though I guess having all of Rider's companions die early would not be helpful to the story.

This book might have the most incomplete ending of any Cook story I have read, and the last sentence is absolutely maddening, something I can only assume was intentional. I am honestly surprised this book was accepted for publication originally with an ending like that.

This author is one of my very favorites, but this story is unremarkable and could be skipped....

Edited comment - upon reflection and a comment in a later review, this story could or may be a pastiche of the oriental stories common at some point in the past (Skull-face, anyone?)