I get why they might, just because you don't need to read it to understand the rest of the series. A lot of people also don't like the obvious parallels between Calorman and countries in thr Middle East. And I agree it would have to be handled carefully,but I wouldn't call it the weakest of the series. It's the only one I consistently reread as a child. Mostly because of Aravis. As a little girl I thought she was just the coolest. As an adult I realize how complex her story is.