Well, my first lost review due to pressing the wrong button has happened. I had a NICE review, several paragraphs, expressing exactly how I liked this book. And now it is GONE, and honestly, I'm not even sure why.   So anyway, I liked this book. It dealt with the Underdark, which I find more appealing to read about than the surface. We also get a bit more about Mask, even though it is incidental and I like Mask as a "god" character. I enjoyed him in The War of the Spider Queen and The Lady Penitent series.   However, I am not liking what it is doing to Cale as a character. I thoroughly enjoyed him as a Butler with an Assassin hiding in his closet like in The Halls of Stormweather. I enjoyed seeing him pine after his Lord's daughter. But now that he is Mask's chosen, a minor godling [Shade is the term used, but godling is more apt], he moans for his supposed lost humanity. A butterfly might as well moan about no longer being a grub. It just seems like the changes made have made him a weaker character even while making him a more robust fighter. Angst and all that.   And as for the ending, who DIDN'T see that coming? I mean, second place is really just saying "you're not really good enough". " ( )