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Rating: 
Summary: Clumsy and annoying - can't stand the writer's voice!
Review: I could not bring myself to finish this, which was a sad waste because I had purchased hardback volumes I & II on the hype. Gee, brilliant idea: listen to the publisher's hype! Never again. Can't tell whether this series or Marcos' Eyes of God were more poorly written. two-dimensional, obvious characters, painful dialogue, a plot which you can smell coming a mile away...UGH! The concept is probably the only thing that doesn't bite. Honestly, reading this was like choking down over-cooked peas. My mind gladly leapt at the chance to dig into the new David Farland work. Do yourself a favor and skip this in favor of Russell, Martin, Farland, ...heck, even the formulaic but well-written Drake or Salvatore. If you already bought this, put it in your car trunk in case you roll off into a ravine and are stuck for a week with no food or something...
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I gave this book 258 pages of my reading time, and tried hard to warm to it. I bought it on the strength of the glowing reviews excerpted inside the front cover, so came expecting something good. Unfortunately, the writing is bad (he uses words which don't mean quite what he seems to think they mean), the editing is worse, a really lazy editor, and I got sick and tired of Wigg's "infamous" eyebrow! As well, there are inconsistencies that a bit of care should have picked up, the most glaring in the pages I read is the screaming harpy yanking Tristan's dirk from its eye, and then a page later, after it's dead, Wigg pulling the same dirk from the same eye. Yes, it's that basic! I lost patience, and I'm quite a forgiving reader if the story or characters grab me, but neither did, so it's off to the second hand bookstore with ya, Robert!!
Rating: 
Summary: Hints of Greatness
Review: Okay, I have read a few of the reviews about this book, and I am going to try and put them all together to paint a more complete picture of this book. I read this book last night, and although impressed wouldn't be the word I would use, there was certainly something to his writing that drew me in. I have read a lot of good fantasy and a lot of bad fantasy, and this is far from the worst I have read; and I really feel with a little work and maturity on the part of the author, this could be part of the better fantasy out there. I will qualify my opinion and say that I have read Goodkind, Jordan, Hobb, Feist, Haydon, Modessit, and many other notable fantasy authors. The main appeal to these books wasthe scope and grandeaur of worlds they created. Hobbs Buckeep comes alive during the reading, Haydons characters are so well developed they could be living next door to you, the vastness of Jordans world (politics, war, intrigue, history) are unmatchable, and on and on for each of these authors. The main thing that I think Newcomb succeeded at was his creation of a unique fantasy "idea". Not often do authors these days come out with something new on the age old fantasy spin. (I personally think the last one was David Farlands Runelord idea with which I am really impressed); and I think that Newcomb should be congratulated for that. The idea of magic in his book was intersting, and kept me entertained, as well as the created of a dark history (as so many authors before him have used for effect: Jordan, Goodkind, Hobb, Feist, etc.) Having said that, and complimenting Newcomb on these few promising story threads, i think he does need to do some work to make this book similar in caliber to the authors I have mentioned before. The plot falls short, sure, it is is entertaining and fast moving, but needs more substance and depth to it. (think politics) The characters are abominable. (Although an interesting thing to note would be the almost complete role reversal from Jordans simpering males and femdom culture) The women are not developed well at all, and I immediately didn't agree with his description of "male and female, light and dark"; you can't do that; you will lose all of the women as your audience. The wizards are the same as they are in any book, stodgey, old, and know it alls. (I would like to see something different at some point). The main character (Tristan) develops through th book, and I don't have a lot of issue with that. So in summation, I think this book was an enjoyable read. Certainly not the best book I read, butI really feel there are a lot of things the author can do to make the next books better. Hopefully by the 10th or 11th book (as most modern fantasy authors are won't to do) his writing will have gotten better.
Rating: 
Summary: A Huddled Mess of a Story -- Classic? Hardly!
Review: The story of an ancient war with prophecies relevant to the present day, including a mean-spirited wizard mentoring the young, reluctant prince, who serves as a sponge to the wizard's teachings. Lacking a true "Dark Lord", the story delivers worse: Sorceresses, the female magic-wielding counterparts of Wizards. The portrayal of women as inately evil may put readers off (it did me). The author pretty much comes out and says that women, granted power, will almost inevitably use it for evil, while men would have the sense to use such powers for good. The writing is pretentious, even sophomorish in style. Newcomb has some pretty good visuals, but he often rambles on for pages of details when mere paragraphs would have been sufficient. This inflation of words devalues the total story. The book is full of awkwardly phrased sentences, typos, and annoyingly frequent repetition of phrases such as "impossible angles," or the use of "the old one" to describe the wizard. Additionally, the violence is brutally and graphically depicted without being at all kinetic or engaging, making even the battles a chore to read. When in doubt, leave it out! Too much hasn't been left out. This one is strictly for loyal fans of the author.**
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