There is part of me that misses long fantasy novels like this, and then there is the other part of me that remembers why I don’t read them that often. They are quite involved and long. While this one didn’t have as many characters as, say, Game of Thrones does, it is still a lot. The first part of the novel was a bit slow as it had a lot of world-building to set up the stacks of the series. It was told mostly from the POV of three characters, Elbryan and his childhood, Jilly, aka Pony, and monk Avelyn. They all bring a different perspective to the story, but all agree that the evil must be stopped. A great beast has been awakening after centuries, and with him, the worst of man comes out. He feeds off of our cruelty and greed. Elbryan and Pony witness their whole village murdered by Goblins, but they go their separate ways. Elbryan trains with Elves to become a ranger, and Pony takes a long road to becoming a soldier. Avelyn is a true believer who has powers even his monastery doesn’t understand. The story really doesn’t pick up until they all finally team up. Elbryan and Pony I liked immediately, but Avelyn took some time to warm up to. Once I did, he became one of my favorite characters in the book. It’s your typical story of ordinary people who have lived extraordinary lives and must meet up and defeat the evil in the world. This is the first book of the series, and as much as I enjoyed it, I am not sure I am going to read the others. While I am curious as to where the series goes next since it seemingly won the day, I am not sure I am curious enough. So, yes, it’s a good book. I am glad that I read it.