Steven C. (SteveTheDM) - , reviewed on 9/2/2010 + 204 more book reviews

So I picked up this book because I've started to hear a lot about it lately (of the good review variety). And I'm really of two minds about it.

The book was clearly written with a lot of skill. The various plot lines keep moving, and have little in the way of needless exposition. The characters were well drawn, and easy to keep distinct, despite the large number of them. It's definitely the first of a series of books, as it seems like the opening chapter for many of the characters. (Those "opening chapters" are meaty, and full of wonderful story -- like I said, there's really no needless exposition here.)

But about 200 pages before I was done, I was really ready for the book to be done. I kept wanting to know what happens next, but at that point I was ready for summaries. That's not to say that the end of the book was worse than the start, for it was just as compelling (maybe even more so) than the start. I was just done with the stories. Perhaps the real problem here is that there were too many plot lines going at the same time. If one or two had been removed, the book would have been much shorter.

Other things: the brutality of the "bad guys" really hit my over-the-top trip switch. And it wasn't because it was gory or savage; it was the way actions combined with the sadistic glee of the bad guys. I actually had to put the book down a few times to let things sit a bit before continuing. This isn't everywhere, not by a long shot. And it goes a long way toward making the bad guys truly bad guys, so there's a point. But wow. There's truly a difference between savage and evil.

So my review is mixed. The wordcraft is excellent. The story is grand. And yet it didn't leave me wanting more.

4 of 5 stars.

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