4.4 stars. Just as gd as the first book and incredible writing style and storylines! I cant wait to see more of this world!.The only slightly negative, or offputting, thing in the books so far is that the wizard is downright unlikable at times. We are used to wise, gentle, respectful, kind wizards from other fantasy worlds like Dumbledore, Gandalf, Zedd and so on, but at times Bayaz is just mean, short tempered, rude and very ungrateful to his companions and specially his guides help and positive mood. I expect more from a great and very old and supposedly wise wizard, but this is just personal opinion perhaps, based on my own previous books worlds. And perhaps its for a reason Ive yet to know about, he does have a lot on his shoulders after all! But he is not my fave character, based solely on my wish for him to not be a grumpy old arse all the time and to be kinder to his poor guide who just want a bit of aknowledgement and gratitude for his expertise and knowledge, which he deserves.