I got this in the mail today and sat down to read it. Alas, I finished it. It was very visually appealing and the story rekindles my childhood love for adventure stories. I am excited to read the next installment. However, I am really focusing on how cool I think the series will be. In terms of this installment, I have to admit that the story itself is your basic intro to a long series. All the characters are introduced and the basic idea of the story is introduced. The character of Lan is pretty dull and one dimensional, so far. You don't get to hear much about the other boys involved except for Rand. I think the book does set up the tension for what is to come which is the main goal. I would suggest this to people who like fantasy and/or graphic novels.