Wow! This is the best high fantasy I've read in years and I completely forgot I liked high fantasy as a genre! Going to have to go find all the long, epic sequels now to get me through summer. Characters: excellent. Writing: wonderfully devoid of smut; I like my fantasy with more plot and less sex. PLOT: INCREDIBLE AND CULMINATING IN VARIOUS PLOT TWISTS ALL IN THE LAST 20 PAGES WOW I NEED THE SEQUELS LIKE YESTERDAY.