Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

At first, I was somewhat worried about reading this novel; the synopsis is pretty brief, and many of the other reviews at the time (shortly after publication) were short, "this is the only review I've written" types that I always assume are shills. At less than a buck though, I was willing to take a risk, and was pleasantly surprised. Manning's produced a novel that is an example of good, traditional fantasy. The writing is consistently fun and vivid, the pacing quick while still filling in the necessary detail, the dialogue scans well, and you can both believe in and empathize with the characters. The plot is also pretty decent; Mordecai, the protagonist, is the sole survivor of line of mages and nobles killed by assassins. Eventually his own magical powers develop, and over the period of a couple weeks he gets up to deeds of daring-do, somewhat predictably saving himself, friends and family in the process. While there isn't anything particularly inspired or new in Manning's magical system, plot, or worldbuilding, this is as good as most traditionally published fantasy novels and is well edited. Overall, a very solid effort, and well worth the price. I'd recommend this book to fantasy readers in general, and will read the sequel.