It's a long book and it just serves to introduce some characters and part of a fantasy world. Nothing much happens in this one, but I expect the story will unfold in the next two books, which I don't intend to read. (I'm interested in what happens though. I'll try to find some spoilers.)

It tries hard to be original in the characters and the setting, but somehow it didn't work for me. If I just look at the character traits, like a crippled inquisitor who used to be a favored, handsome young man, it all sounds interesting. But then they still manage to come out two-dimensional, nothing more than the sum of these traits. The characters don't come alive.

One part where the book surprisingly excels is humor. It's supposed to be this dark, gritty fantasy epic, but I found myself chuckling several times. The characters may not be engrossing enough for drama, but they work quite well for comedy!