This is such an interesting reading experience. It has all the hallmarks of epic fantasy: a chosen one, political manoeuvring, battles on which the fate of the realm hinges, a large cast of POV characters, an underdog that transforms into a hero, refugees fleeing from the war, a rightful ruler in exile, a holy order of prophetesses and of course – the rise and defeat of an ultimate evil … 

However, it has none of the complexity that these epic novels usually have. The characters are one-dimensional at best (all right, Nicolas may have a very shallow 2nd dimension) and caricatures at worst. There is no character development. The few characters that do change and grow (notably Bertrand) do so off-page so the change seems abrupt and out of the blue. The plot absolutely *races* along! No endless journeys and waiting around for stuff to happen in this book! The plot is also very simple: not in the sense that it’s predictable or that there’s not a lot going on, but in the sense that as soon as an obstacle is raised, a handy solution is found. For example, when one character tries to force another into paying them for certain information, the extorted character immediately notices a ring (which has emphatically not been mentioned as important to the wearer before) that the extorter is wearing that happens to convey some blackmail-worthy information, allowing them to get the info without paying for it. And so it goes the entire book: obstacle > solution, info being revealed > info being acted on, …  

I also think the position of women in this world was dealt with simplistically. For example, one of the characters claims divine visions of a new aspect of the God. The Church immediately dismisses this (Why would God show himself to a mere women). And in and of itself, that is a very realistic element but… This world has *specifically a holy order of women whose speciality is prophecy*. And this world does have women as the head of guilds, so in positions of societal respect and powers. So this misogynistic dismissiveness feels like its used as a shortcut instead of actual character motivations and development. And it happens to multiple characters, again as a simplistic way for them to be dismissed. 

Despite the flat characters, the goodies were likeable and the baddies wonderfully detestable, and I did start rooting for them, even when I didn’t think I would. I internally cheered when some of them had their big character victories. And I can totally imagine that this kind of book – where the plot moves along nicely and straightforwardly is exactly what you want. In general, or as a palate cleanser after reading something like, say, Wheel of Time. 

All-in-all, I did enjoy the ride, but for my tastes it was definitely missing some complexity. I also am sort of sad it’s so obscure because I kind of want to compare reading-experiences 😊.