This book was a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish. I haven’t laughed so hard in a while.

I’ve loved this book to bits and it feels like this might very well be the best read of 2017 for me.

The writing is spot on, riddled with references (half of which went straight over my head, as usual) and witty remarks. The book doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously while still managing to feel epic and real at the same time.

The world building was spectacular. I think the author most have gone to great lengths to find all these fantastical beings. It’s like the entirety of the fantasy universe lives right here. There’s even a political movement to co-exist with the monsters: The Get-a-longs. Classic. The world is as classic fantasy as it gets but doesn’t feel stale in the slightest.

The plot is simple and fairly straight forward, with the occasional backtracking and sidetouring, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. The pace is kept up nicely and there is plenty of stuff going on at any given moment.

Our limited cast of 5 (former) band members is equally diverse and loveable AF. There’s the stoic, look-at-me-wrong-and-i’ll-kill-you Ganelon, the calm, pensive Clay and his best friend who went off the rails, Gabriel. Let’s not forget the loony, but warm-hearted, Moog and the ever-drinking cuckolded Mattrick and their heartwarming friendship. The character building is excellent and I feel like I could call these guys my friends. Even the secondary characters are memorable, looking at you Jain and the Silk Arrows and the myriad of cool-nick-named killers make for a fantastic backdrop for this epic tale of friendship (and killing things).

5 million stars. Can’t wait to read more like this.