Wow, this book blew me away. Typically I get a bit annoyed with authors that don’t drive the plot forward much but I have to say the prose and the mastery of the English language, especially in giving the text a lyrical quality and flow, was just so entrancing I didn’t care much. It is a very slow book, maybe THE slowest book I’ve read, actually. But I’ve never seen something as well realized as this, at least not in fantasy literature.

The characters and the world are fantastic, as is every facet of each. From mannerisms to crevasse of the castle! I’m not even really sure what to liken the fiction to though. It is fantasy but... like... what, baroque fantasy, I guess? I’ll definitely continue. I am all about it.

As a side note, the audiobook edition I thought was quite good. Simon Vance aka Robert Whitfield does a great job and you really notice the lyrical qualities and flow when it is read aloud.