This series is oddly entertaining, considering it's essentially traditional fantasy fare. The lowly main characters are suddenly the foretold / prophesied saviors, versus a ultra-powerful evil, etc.. It's somewhat predictable, as well, but something about this particular version of it I find appealing, so I read this in one sitting. I can't really nail down what all I like about it, unfortunately, but I'd recommend the series for those looking for somewhat light traditional fantasy faire, with a thread of hopefulness, an underlying optimism with regard to humanity.

I didn't really mind the departure from Maerad and Cadvan's story, personally. I felt Hem was an interesting character, though he certainly does go through a great many difficult things, and the story still retains a certain amount of predictability, it's nice to see his initiative in his less overt work against the Dark.