i have mixed feelings about this book. first, i have to say that it was extremely well written. as far as fantasy novels go, it might be on par with tolkein's lord of the rings--for writing style anyway. there's lots of back story, history, and population. thematically, it's kind of murky and vague. there's a good and evil conflict going on, but we're not really sure why the evil is evil and why the good is good, if in fact the good really is good. i mean, the good guys are supposed to be good guys but nobody trusts them. there's also many factions all claiming to be the good guys, but they don't get along and nobody likes either of them and they both do things that are very far from good. they're just not as creepy as the bad guys. but, i guess that's par for the course when it comes to the fantasy genre and we probably find out more about all that in the later books.
the characters were kind of odd. i mean, overall, they're generally likeable, well written and decent but every once in a while they'll do something really weird and out of character just to make the story more suspenseful or to add drama or something. i don't like that. thankfully it doesn't happen too often and doesn't impact the novel too much. it's just kind of irritating when it does happen.
also, everyone in the book acknowledges that there is a creator. but they don't worship him or even discuss him beyond the brief mention that he exists. they seem to worship a giant magical seven-spoked loom in the sky. they say things like, "the wheel weaves what the wheel will." they get their magical power by touching some strings coming off this loom. all the creator ever did was create the world and the wheel and then lock up ba'alzamon into this giant magical box. (ba'alzamon is the supernatural evil devil kind of person. probably the equivalent of satan, except just plain scary.)
in conclusion, i can't really recommend this novel to everyone. at best it's ho-hum or meh. it's got plenty of suspense and it's fun to read but the ending is a bit of a downer and very vague ... i mean, where did all the stark detail that got me hooked in the first chapter go? it completely disappears at the end. that being said, i'll probably read the next book in the series, just because i'm curious how this thing ended up being twelve books long.
the characters were kind of odd. i mean, overall, they're generally likeable, well written and decent but every once in a while they'll do something really weird and out of character just to make the story more suspenseful or to add drama or something. i don't like that. thankfully it doesn't happen too often and doesn't impact the novel too much. it's just kind of irritating when it does happen.
also, everyone in the book acknowledges that there is a creator. but they don't worship him or even discuss him beyond the brief mention that he exists. they seem to worship a giant magical seven-spoked loom in the sky. they say things like, "the wheel weaves what the wheel will." they get their magical power by touching some strings coming off this loom. all the creator ever did was create the world and the wheel and then lock up ba'alzamon into this giant magical box. (ba'alzamon is the supernatural evil devil kind of person. probably the equivalent of satan, except just plain scary.)
in conclusion, i can't really recommend this novel to everyone. at best it's ho-hum or meh. it's got plenty of suspense and it's fun to read but the ending is a bit of a downer and very vague ... i mean, where did all the stark detail that got me hooked in the first chapter go? it completely disappears at the end. that being said, i'll probably read the next book in the series, just because i'm curious how this thing ended up being twelve books long.
what is it with fantasy novels and their supernatural villains? isn't the world full enough of natural, human villains?
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