I honestly didn't have high expectations of The Stolen Throne - the other book I read by the author, Asunder, was on a topic that I found much more interesting, and reading it still felt like a drag. The Stolen Throne was a pleasant surprise though! While it definitely suffered from a bit too much telling (as opposed to showing), the characters were interesting and the writing - perfectly serviceable, if not great. The growth of the characters felt really realistic, and even though there were some extreme jumps in characterization, they felt properly built up and explained. Makes me wish that the next Dragon Age novel would focus on the same heroes, as opposed to what was teased at the end.