Not a reread, for a change. The first time I picked this up I couldn't get through the first chapter. Who were all these strange people? Where were my familiar characters? This time I pushed through, and found the result worth reading. (I still don't think I'm ever going to manage
Angel of Destruction, though.)
Also, if someone had told me this was the book in which a certain exceptionally irritating villain dies, I would have read it a lot sooner. Finally, we've moved beyond the personal into a wider political tale. I'm looking forward to the next book.