The Silence of Our Ancestors pulled me into the story within a page or two and kept me invested. It's a very well-written tale about Dragon-Blooded who are not the usual imperialist slavers and Immaculate murderers, and set in the frozen Northwest which readers rarely get to visit. These are the heroes the Dragon-Blooded need. For the first time ever, I could imagine playing one.

The protagonist has a limited time to solve a disturbing undead mystery, with almost no resources, before the Wanasaan sorcerers come for her. James Huggins clearly understands the setting and never pulls me out of the story with incongruous tone or detail, and the plot is one that could only happen in Creation. The mortal side-characters are complex and three-dimensional, although it felt like they overcame their prejudice against Gray oddly fast. The demons are exceptionally well-written, absolutely accurate to the setting with zero gratuitous nastiness. You can clearly see how [Third Edition] sorcerers become somewhat unsettling, but not utterly inhuman. I found the ending heartwarming and I would buy the sequel if Huggins writes one.