This book was a whopper of a book size wise, coming in at 608 pages. The plot was well done, with having action-packed scenes all the way through to the end. The biggest issue for me with this book was the fact that there was not a lot of world building. Because high fantasy revolves around another world and its struggles, power dynamic, social issues, and political issues, solid world building is a must. In my opinion, this was the biggest downfall of this book. Without this strong aspect, the book felt underdeveloped and a lot of the situations the main character was stuck in just felt like there was an easier way out. On top of that, Michael was in no way a likable main character, he seemed self absorbed. All in all a decent book, but not one of my favorites.