Being a lover of epic adventure/fantasy tales, I thought I would be all in on this one. Some of it may have been me, I’ll admit. Having not slept much during the time frame I listened to this novel, I found it a bit too much at times to keep up with. There’s a lot of repetition. I spent a large part of the story line feeling like I was in the hands of an ADHD author who couldn’t stay on task. I felt like it jumped from point to point, then would suddenly return to a portion of the story that was unfolding a couple of chapters back.
Since this is apparently an eight book serial, most of this story was spent world-building, which is fine. Sort of. I felt a bit like I had fallen into a long, slow RPG video game where all action ceases regularly so the narrator can establish certain facts. Then the character moves 20 paces and it starts all over again… a bit frustrating.
The actual storyline was enjoyable and complex. The characters, especially Linden and the Sword Master’s Apprentice (sorry, I’ve forgotten her name and her actual title), were quite likable. Gotta’ love a chick who knows what to do with a sword. But I think I’m probably going to sit the rest of this one out.