Big fan of Mr Brooks' "Shannara" novels here, but had evaded his attempt at "non-serious" fantasy for many years. Went into this one expecting that it would be sort of a Pratchett- or an Asprin-pastiche, and was pleasantly surprised that it really wasn't:

An easy read, and easy to like. A well-executed, wonderfully charming story.

...Now, is this necessarily a series that I'm going to follow for five or six more novels? - Don't know.

...Can I see what people liked about it? - Definitely yes.