The Empress of Salt and Fortune

Very disappointed because the book description piqued my interest. The book is basically someone recalling events to a cleric. That took all the intensity and all the urgency out of the story. How wonderful and thrilling would it have been if we could have read about the events while they were happening, all the twists and turns and political machinations? Then again, I guess the story itself didn't have much meat to it so it would probably wouldn't have worked, but I'm still sorely disappointed that we got this lukewarm retelling rather than a novel of fantastic politic intrigue. It would have been nice to marvel at the intellect and wit of a character who must navigate a pit of enemies.