Hmmm, what do I think? I think the story was really good, I think that Brent Weeks has some really sold storytelling / writing skills. However, something felt seriously lacking for me; I couldn’t quite put my finger on it until I read this review.

Apart from the overly relying on fantasy tropes, I didn’t really mind up until the epilogue, there is almost no character building. All characters are more or less the exact same at the end of the story as they are at the start. There is a very small arc at the start when Azoth goes from “innocent kid” to “avenger” when he kills Rat, and there is Durzo that gets some paternal feelings for his boy apprentice, but other than that it’s just bland.

The thing that bugged me while reading was the lack of a connection with any of the characters. I mean, the story is really good (maybe a bit stereotype, but that’s ok sometimes), the setup is good, the writing style brings things to life, but without a link to the character, in the end, it’s just words.

I still enjoyed it and I think that’s because the story was interesting enough to make me continue with part 2.