A thrilling, heartstopping quest that blends the machinations of a king gone mad with the politics of empire, breathtaking suspense with the pity of war, a brilliantly conceived world of ancient days with the joys - and terrors - of magic...
A 900-page chore
I came to this book wanting to reacquaint myself with fantasy, and found myself disappointed and DEEPLY irritated. It felt like a checklist of genre tropes we have a hapless protagonist nonetheless destined for greatness, a dying king, an eccentric magician-mentor, an elf-like race that has disappeared from history, and of course an ancient and terrible evil threatening to conquer them all. The set-up felt so very tired, and the plot was sluggish and predictable. While I don't usually get bothered about female characterisation, I found this book aggravating. Several hundred pages pass before a woman of any substance appears. Prior to this, we are represented by a dragonish old woman and a handful of bosomy serving girls. But wait- that secretive boy over there is actually a girl AND there's more! She's actually the princess. Haven't we grown past this? I intend to look to newer, more innovative fantasy from now on.
Reviewed by 33as
Amy, 23/08/2014
