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Do not read this book. Read this review instead.

Review by Michael

Stephen R. Donaldson, Andrew Leonard, David Drake, Paula Guran, Jacquline Carey, Glen Cook and Elizabeth Haydon ARE ALL LIARS. This book is only good if you're 12 years old and think of people as paper-thin and totally devoid of complex thought and emotion. I call these characters weathervane characters, and they are now a strong part of the pantheon of horribly written, pointless characters who exist only as tiny outgrowths of DEUS EX MACHINA, and since many of the characters are actually "agents" of actual gods in this realm, it's not just an empty phrase.

Makes your commute longer.

I will leave you, for example's sake, the Adjunct. She randomly feels guilty about being who she is, but only as heavy-handed, internal monologue that never results in any impact, whatsoever, on the story itself. Let me tell you aspiring authors out there: false and forced contradictions make the characters thinner, not more real. We can't get a gauge on her motivations. We can't thrill or chafe in her victories because we've no idea where we stand. Also, she ends up not changing, and she's a very, very good example of the kinds of characters in this book: a version of what a dishonest writer believes a character SHOULD be like, instead of letting them flow naturally from their own motivations.

I read this book to the end, only because I wanted to write an honest review. I hated this book. It insulted me. My money was wasted on this book, and people who think that books like this are good are the reason that fantasy fiction sucks most of the time.

This book is horrid, and the only reason to read it is if you have no standards.
1 out of 6

Taken from my Goodreads blog.