Believe it or not, I almost walked past this one. While I do keep up with my favorite authors and read recommendations, I find a lot of new books/authors simply by skimming the SF/F section at my local Barnes & Noble. They had Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, but the title didn't grab me. I bought other books, I left. This happened two or three times before I finally picked up the book, read the blurb and decided to give it a whirl.