u/thiccbooklover247

After two and a half years, I finished the series recently. (After reading the first six books in a row, I read the last five and short stories with some breaks in between). Here are my thoughts on the series:

Liked:

1. Characterization: Most of the characters are very well written, with a whole gamut of emotions they stir in you. I probably have twenty new favourites afterwards.

2. Worldbuilding and Lore: A vast and deeply fantastic world coupled with its factions and their relationships with each other give the story its much appreciated density. (It's always my favourite part after characterization.)

Disliked:

1. Prose: It’s dense, beautiful and full of nuances. It is a bit archaic in nature, but suits the setting. If only it was not cursed by the repetition of themes and the verbosity. It often got frustrating, to say the least.

2. Over explaining: A lot of things are over explained and repeatedly over the course of the series. For example most of the magic in the series is abstract in nature but is explained extremely each time. After nth time you can clearly see a few keywords popping like ‘harmony’, ‘resonance’ , ‘vibration’, ‘mysteries’ etc. in similar combinations every time. What could have been said in a paragraph, takes several pages to conclude.

Similar is the repetition of effects of certain races each time they are mentioned. And worst of all ‘roll my eyes’ moments were, when defining traits (like compassion, justice, hardiness, deviousness etc.) of key characters are mentioned, almost every damn time they appear on page.Even some themes in the plot are used over and over.

3. Main duo: I tried but couldn't connect with either of the main characters much due to various reasons. One character’s arc and part in the plot itself keeps tapering off rather than flashing out while the other becomes infallible, grandly noble (with ever bleeding compassionate heart) and frankly too lucky too many times by the end.

4. Depressing: I enjoy grimdark fantasy but when only it's got a healthy pinch of humor in it. This is not even grimdark, but by the end it got too depressing, too harrowing with little humour spread far and between.

These were my personal thoughts about the series. Tldr: I don't think it was a time wasted but definitely think that it could have been better invested elsewhere. If the books were heavily edited with more flowing prose, it would have an instant recommendation from me. If you have more than ample patience and you have exhausted the genre, it is definitely worth checking out.