It was interesting to read this in terms of its place in the history of the fantasy genre. The Tolkien influences were obvious, as were the ways in which this influenced so much that followed (especially Martin, Jordan, Hobb). The writing was great, and for someone who loves Hobb and Rothfuss that's always important to me. Regardless, I'm not sure yet if I will continue in the series.

It seems to me, from reading reviews, that many people hated the first section, Simon Mooncalf. I'm definitely in the minority there - I thought that was the most successful part of the novel. Simon is young, stubborn, lazy, and moony, and you get a slice-of-life picture of his youth in the castle, interspersed with worldbuilding in clever, believable ways (rather than misplaced or awkward info-dumping). He's certainly annoying, but I thought he was annoying in a charming way, and I enjoyed how Morgenes and Rachel balanced him out. I loved Morgenes' fondness for and exasperation with young Simon. The Simon Pilgrim section, however, was  b o r i n g. Binabik and Qantaqa will forever have a piece of my heart, and the unique take on troll culture was refreshing. But damn... the travel, attack, travel, attack, travel, attack repetition that carried throughout the rest of the book doesn't really work for me, or at least only in small doses/well-balanced by other plotlines. I had enough of that with Jordan, and while I have many problems with the Wheel of Time books, I would say they're better paced than this (least as far as I am in the series, which is pre-slog). 

I'm disappointed. I went in understanding that as a book written in the 80's, I would probably have some concerns with the female characters (I did - nothing egregious but still noticeably lacking real care) and that I wouldn't necessarily be blown away by the inventiveness since I've read from authors who were inspired by Williams. But I still thought I would enjoy it more than I did.