Fonda Lee is a master in building quick and seemingly disconnected plots and characters and making them engaging. Scenes with unknown characters that in other books may seem boring but that the reader has to get through in order to put the narrative together are just as interesting and essential here. 

She is also an expert in pacing. The timeline of this book is a lot longer than the previous two. We are talking about 20+ years. It didn't feel rushed nor unimportant, considering that things had to happen quickly in order for the characters to get through everything that the author intended to get them through. Beloved characters take a seat back for new ones, but the story never becomes unfamiliar. 

Never had I read a fantasy story with a setting that felt so realistic and surprisingly common. This is an urban fantasy, so of course, it is set in reality. However, the details of the politics, the economy, the way the army in different countries work, and more really sell the setting of the story. Mid-read, I almost began to wonder, well, what DO I think about the legalization of Jade in Espenia??? like it was a real-world issue.

It's like, after all three books, I've LIVED in Janloon. And for all its faults, I'm gonna miss it.