[Coco with marshmallows]

It's the first book in a proposed quartet.

Only one hundred something pages in so far, but quite enjoying it.
Some interesting world building (with a number of rather obvious lifts from real life history not withstanding), detailed magic system, fair amount of backstabbing shenanigans.....

Definitely a case of so far, so good IMNSHO.......

anyone else read it / thinking of reading it / even heard of it?

[Cause]

Got it. Keen to hear your thoughts. Ill try start it up soon

[Coco with marshmallows]

Definitely enjoyable.

As I said there are some obvious lifts/parallels from our own history that he's used, but they don't actually detract much from the story. In fact I personally found them helpful in terms of giving me a sense of depth to the world that the author is creating.

Plotting is a little YA at times, but it progresses quite well, and the book builds to a fairly satisfactory climax that still left me wanting to read more. Definitely a solid 7.5/maybe even 8 out of 10 for me.

[Cause]

Wont even finish it. Boring world, boring plot, unlikable characters. Admittedly if I were not as busy as I am now I might have stuck with it but for what I'm getting from it its not worth the time.

I first thought about putting the book down when I realized their were Arabs, living in the dessert, who follow one god but they wage Shihad instead of Jihad. Lazy! Stealing from real world cultures is impossible. The Scylvendi of Bakker are Mongols. Still they at least were fleshed out. They were not just cardboard copies of a famous real world religion. Muslims are more than just polygamists who wage holy wars.

I next thought about putting the book down when I got bored, immediately, with yet another story of a powerful mage but who is picked on by all the richer, smarter, stronger mages that lack his moral compass. Why must every heroic child in a story be abused!

I finally put the book down when I realized I was rooting for the wrong side. When our heroine goes on a suicide mission against several stronger foes, each one better, stronger and more powerful then her and she strikes at them in their own domains, I expected her to lose. I wanted her to lose. She told us she was going to lose. When she won instead I felt like the book had shattered. It had broken its own contract with itself about what was plausible and not. All we were ever told is how badass the enemies were, each one was worse than the last and she won. Ridiculous.

[Coco with marshmallows]

like i said, plotting is a little YA at times.

However:

Spoiler

By the end of the book she's betrayed by the queen and the necromancer/cockroach takes over her body.

She's definitely dead.

There is a map, fairly generic and not particularly detailed