The middle of the book is intriguing. The first and last quarters are not that great. I don't really like any of the characters; I think Tad's verisimilitude lapses get worse as the book goes on, the bit about Yasammez and the mirror in particular; there is no reason for Quinnitan to be in this book at all; and she contributes to the choppy, nauseating flipping between viewpoints. Worst of all, as the last half of the book grinds on you realize that Tad is NOT going to give you all, or even any, of the interesting details about how the world is constructed that he promises to. There is no way Chert's trip to the deeps could have been written with less satisfactory information being revealed.

Ugh. It's gripping enough to read, but it's now on the shelf with Wizard's First Rule where I'll probably track down the sequels and read them someday, but I am in no fricking hurry.