AAARGH MUST READ NEXT BOOK NOW.I found this story harder to get into than the other Tortall books I've read. It seemed to take a long time to set up the plot, with not a lot happening in the meantime. But it got me in the end. I'm in love with Nawat Crow and with Dove Balitang (my theory is she's the woman from the prophecy, not Sarai) and will be starting the next book as soon as possible.
I'm not sure I feel qualified to comment on the racial politics in this book. They're interesting, though, and I'm especially intrigued to know how the finale will play out. I'm glad there are so many awesome people of color in the story, even though the main character isn't one of them. Not sure how I feel about the "people of color have we-come-from-animals origin story" thing, but I do like that it's the crows who can turn into people, not the other way around.
Prophecies are tricky things, and prophecies made by trickster gods even more so.
