I think this book was solid, but the comparisons to Name of the Wind are a bit farfetched. This book rushes a lot. It doesn't feel as much like an enjoyable story as it does a lesson (though it's not clear in what), and this makes it less enjoyable to relax and lose oneself in. The story itself was good, though not perfect, and the characters were a bit less developed than I would have expected. Most of all, I found the format to be a bit awkward. The present day vs. long historical sections were not as well done as in the Name of the Wind, and often ruined bits of the story by telling what would happen in the next historical part (which I found extremely frustrating). Overall, worth reading for fans of the genre, but not a book I'd recommend to anyone else. ( )

I'm really not sure why people where comparing this to Sanderson or Rothfuss. Did no one read Mark Lawrence's The Broken Empire? In any case, I started off thinking this was boy lit--all testosterone and swordly prowess, but it turned out to be a nuanced look at loyalty, religion, honor, love and magic.

Being a '1st' book, there were times when the prose could have been smoother or a change of subject came too abruptly, but I have no doubt that this trilogy (series?) will just get better.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, including parts of it on audio (I switch back and forth between the two depending on circumstance). The narrator's voice was delicious. My only complaint is that on occasion I missed that the character was expressing an inner thought, but on the whole he did a superb job.

( )

Every bit as enjoyable and entertaining the second time around as it was the first. I've read a lot of reviews that blast Ryan for line-edit errors (which is why authors have editors, btw) but the kindle version of this series has been updated repeatedly as errors are found and corrected (as is the case with every book).

If you like Rothfuss, Brett, Jordan or Weeks, you'll absolutely love Ryan! I'd highly recommend this series to any fan of epic fantasy! ( )

A great fast-paced, exciting read which I highly recommend. I thought the characters were well developed, the setting interesting, and the story was engaging. ( )

I heard the hype. I heard it a while ago and intended to read the book, but it sat on my to-read list for a really long dang time before I finally got around to it.

I finally read the book. I loved it. It lived up to the hype. Book two is currently sitting on my reader waiting for me to get to it, and you know? I'm not in a big dang rush to read it. I think the first book stood alone pretty well without the crazy cliffhangers (The next morning, when she woke, she was blind EFF YOU kind of cliffhanger, ugh), and while I'm looking forward to reading it, I'm okay with letting it sit for a little longer to let the first book stew. ( )