I bought this series in a book club deal back in 2000. This is the first time I've read it o_O

The key word in the title is 'merchant' - this is all about the economics of succeeding in business in Midkemia. It's slightly more interesting than it sounds! Only occasionally chapters are given over to the continued fight on t'other side of the world, until the final chapters jump back and forth between the two, now better tied together, story lines.

I might have liked it better if main character Roo wasn't actually a little unpleasant.