Right-ho! Time to be all objective about a subjective experience, and stuff...

FIRST: Good book. Highly recommend to those interested in Epic Fantasy. There's war, gruesome fighting, friendships, loyalty, true love (not of the romantic kind), evil, magic... all of that. And a Golem.

You're in good hands with Ben Galley. His descriptions and metaphors are as epic as the tale.

So, several totally honest facts:
I read an ARC copy. There were some errors, which I presume have been fixed for the final release.
I started this in February...
I am a mum to a toddler (who was a little over 1 when I started this), and no, he does not sleep through the night.
I am from a middle-income family, and I picked up more work over the past few months, but the days and weeks got no longer to accommodate the extra work, and we need the money, so I can't use it to buy myself time... I'm selling my time to someone else.


What does all this mean? It means I am tired ALL. THE. TIME. And, yes, this does affect my reading experience.

Early on, I found it hard to get into the book because I kept falling asleep before I could finish a chapter. That's my problem, not the book's. It's a big, juicy tale.

So, when I read a book I want to fall in love with at least one of the characters. I didn't. I'm not sure if this is because I was tired, or if what I needed wasn't there (but may have been tweaked enough to be there in the final edition?), but that was my experience. So, I did take some time out to read a couple of light, fluffy tales that my tired brain could digest more easily, hence why I took my time to get through this one.

However, on reaching the end, I could certainly appreciate the journey I had been on and the truths of life that had been explored in the story.

If you are a fan of epic fantasy, with some quirky characters that are offset from the standard moulds enough not to be boring, then I truly believe you will find value here.