This series is brilliant. There is just the right balance of fantastical detail and speed of reading. The way the author writes, as I get more and more involved in the story, the more plausible everything seems... the perfect fantasy novel. There are rare moments where he gets a little too tied up in detailing the scene environment, but overall, this is an excellent story.
He does follow the story formula, which probably is what adds to the simplicity and readability of the storyline. However, there are enough twists and turns that I gobble them up, one right after another. Although there are many expected twists in the story and masterful use of foreshadwoing, there are enough surprises that I am happily surprised and enjoy following the new paths laid out by the author.

A couple books in this series are a bit disappointing and laborious to get through some places, but overall, it's excellent and well worth the read. Considering the size and magnitude of the series as a whole, I think a few places of slowness are acceptable.