I don't know what this will be like for future readers who take all of these books in internal chronological order. Me, I've read all the other related series already. So even on the first time through, the plot was something like coming back to a book you've already read. If you're not someone who ever does that, maybe this won't do all that much for you. But why I reread books - why I'm rereading this one right now, actually - is for the writing and the characters. And the more time we spend with Rath, knowing where this is all heading .... aah, it's heartbreak. Maybe inevitable in some form or other, but still. Plus Jewel and all the others. Time in their company is well spent. ( )

2.5 stars.

Well, in one word, I would have to call this tedious.

First, let me just mention what I did enjoy: I appreciated how imaginative the writing was, and also how much effort was put throughout the book into characterization.

Now, this book was all about characterization, and almost nothing else, so there was no way I could have finished it if I didn't enjoy even that much of it. I am all for character-driven stories usually, however, I did feel like character development, or even character-introduction, was focused on to the point that there was nothing else much left to the story. The action was limited, laying-of-basics for the magic system was perfunctory at best, and the story as a whole just... lagged.

In a general sense, I would say the whole book felt like little more than a stretched-out prologue, with one never actually getting to the point of the actual story. It felt like extra background information that never proved exactly necessary; it would have been had I cared enough for the characters, but unfortunately, for all the extensive and expansive characterization, most of it still fell flat: It felt like a whole lot of telling in the expense of showing. A study in delineating every single character's thoughts and feelings to every single nuance of an event, even those that proved to be mostly expendable.

To be perfectly honest (and admittedly rather harsh), I think that this story would have benefitted from a drastic cutting-out of words. Situations depicting dynamics between characters, if less wordy, might have gotten the message across 1) more subtly, 2) poignantly and 3) while not slowing down the pacing to sheer nonexistence.

The thing, like I said, is that I did like Michelle West's writing for the most part. There was, I think, just too much of it to be good.

I am still harboring an interest as to the fate of the characters introduced in this first volume, but at this point, I am hesitant to decide whether I would continue with it or not. I might give her another chance, sometime in the future. ( )

I hated this book. The writing style was a torture to read - every description was chock full of oxymora and empty insinuations. Instead of saying what she means, the author says two things that are opposite in meaning, with the consequence that nothing she says means anything at all. I won't bother listing any examples - they are simply too tiresome to type.

The characters were completely unbelievable and completely uninteresting. Most of the characters are children, but do not act, speak or think like real children. They are basically adult in every way except for the oh-so-tragic visual of skinny children shivering in the cold.

The plot is actually interesting, but the torturous writing and the dull characters made extracting the plot extremely labour-intensive and time-consuming. By the end, the writing and characters had worn me down so far I couldn't finish the book. And I tried very hard. I was about 450 to 500 pages into the book, and I just couldn't do it anymore. I realized I didn't care about the plot anymore because the writing was just so bad.

Do yourself a favour. Read the first chapter. If the writing doesn't bother you by the end of the first chapter, then you'll be fine. If the writing starts to bother you on the first page, don't waste your time. It's not going to get any better. ( )

This entire series is without doubt the best in fantasy I've read in the last 30 years. It is so far beyond the realm of sword and sorcery that predominates, and even litters, the genre as to be more than refreshing. I counted the days until Battle was released and was jonesing for the next volume immediately. Michelle Sagara West is a major talent and I hope she never stops writing. ( )

A marvelous book. I have not read anything by this author before, but found this to be a good introduction to the world she has created.

It starts with one lone character, Rath who likes the simplicity of being a loner. He hates the complications brought by other people. He then immediately brings a young orphan girl who tries to steal from him into his home. This contradiction is not ignored, but is instead a key internal conflict for Rath.

It also introduces our other protagonist, Jay, who is clearly a child of destiny, in more ways than one. Her "gifts" end up helping Rath, so that he can justify keeping her in spite of the complications she brings. Not only does she complicate Rath's life, she begins to collect other orphan around her.

One of the things I loved about this book was the way that characters were added, building a couple at a time. With some new people leading to other new people. It allowed the story to be epic without becoming confusing.