This Fantasy novel is a good story with the unfortunate addition of a certain amount of extraneous material that adds something to the overall atmosphere of the setting but pulls the reader’s attention away from the action. I sometimes find this situation in academic writers who don’t realize how much footnoting and interesting sidebars get in the way of telling a story.
However, if you skip the travelogue parts and skim the descriptions at the beginning of each chapter, the book has an enjoyable writing style, with an entertaining ironic undertone that makes the main characters stand out on the page.
The plot is episodic in form, finishing the first escapade off, then treating us to a section of backstory and magic lessons before starting the next, a meandering tale needing stronger motivation and more urgency.
The result is a pleasant but not too exciting cross-country ramble by well-written and sympathetic but talkative characters. To use a metaphor from the book, they float along slightly above, and emotionally removed from, a detailed and realistic landscape, touching down often enough for realistic action to keep the reader interested.
Recommended for lovers of light, comedic Fantasy and a mildly cynical writing style. This would be a good opening novel for a series of books containing more action and higher stakes.
(4 / 5)