Exciting and Mysterious Start

I love the way this book opens. Someone on a battlefield, death all around, in the middle of war. We do not know who it is or why, but we hear the characters thoughts and that opens up even more mystery. Who is she? Why is she here? What is this letter all about? Why is the planet dying? And who are the mysterious "shadows"?

I think this book sets up the rest of story nicely by introducing these questions; hopefully, the remainder of the book answers them. I cannot wait to find out.