Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This was simply not a good book. The main character is ridiculous in virtually every regard. As noted by other negative reviews, the protagonist is is some sort of fantasy Superman. He excels at everything. I can't imagine how a normal person is supposed to connect with this kind of character. I guess if I were a world-class genius in every field, an Olympic-class athlete in every sport, and a hero of legend I *might* be able to connect. But, since I'm just a lowly average person, apparently I should simply bow down to the protagonist's godlike qualities. Meh. Obviously the fantasy genre is about heroes (although maybe not in The Song of Ice and Fire series, which matches these books in length but far exceeds them in substance), but there's something fundamentally flat about a hero that apparently was *born* with a full slate of heroic abilities and has 100% aptitude in everything. It seems that in most fantasy novels, the heroes develop into greatness. They are not just immediately excellent at every single thing they do. Bad enough that this is the case, even worse that the author demands to remind us of this with almost every flip of the page. I grew quickly weary of lines like (paraphrasing) "He seemed surprised I caught on so quickly." Or reminding us how the protagonist can learn whole languages in day and half (well, except for idioms . . . because *that* would be silly?), or how he can master in a few days what takes pathetic everybody-else months or years. Yes, yes, we know that you are very full of yourself, now perhaps you would like to advance the plot a little? Not only are the characters flat, but to my mind the writing is sloppy. The author uses terms that feel intrinsically anachronistic. Many narrative phrases feel out of place. It's as if the author was cribbing research material from Wikipedia. The same happens for topics, some of which are shockingly modern considering the apparent era of the fantasy world. For me, these factors equaled a complete lack of engagement or immersion. The protagonist is laughable. He feels more like a 13-year old's fantasy self-image ("And I'm fast, and I'm strong, and I'm smarter than everybody, and everyone likes me, and I'm totally awesome . . .."). He is introduced in a ridiculously hackneyed setting that you will recognize if you have ever seen any Steven Siegal movie ("Don't mind me, I'm just a humble cook. Oh, yeah, and just happen a former Special Forces-trained super killer . . . and I'm totally awesome"). The book had me constantly scratching my head and thinking "Would they have really talked like that, or about that?" Oh, and it was tedious. This, in part, was because of the lack of engagement, but also because, well, it's just really long. It's not that I'm opposed to tales of epic length (as I said, I think The Song of Ice and Fire series is fantastic), but I expect authors to make their words tell. This author does not. This book is blandly repetitive. Overall, I simply cannot recommend this book. If you want epic length with real depth, go with The Song of Fire and Ice series. If you're looking for something fast, but more engaging and better-written, go with the Farseer series.