I wasn't very fond of the switch to the third person point of view. You never get to "see" Vlad's thought process which is one of the greatest things about the other books in the series. And you never hear Loiosh say one word! However, it is a Vlad book and if you enjoyed the others you should still read this one to keep you up on "current events." I had to give this book two stars instead of one because, it IS a Vlad novel and because, if nothing else, it makes a really great (if long) prologue to Orca!