I liked the idea and the characters but not the execution. Too much pain and evil; torture, pedophiles, sadists. A true lack of detailed characterization and dialogue. It is a story with enough heart and depth to have been amazing and touching, but which severely lacked finesse and, I believe, maturity as a writer. It was an idea that could have perhaps been polished and worked on for a bit before being ready for publication. Still, there is a lot of action, politics, magic (not particularly well explained) and a very intriguing cast of characters that I do very much wish had been fleshed out and given life - Ciara, Tosten, Durragh, Kellen, Stala, Ward, and esp. the most elusive of all, Oreg.