I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn't finish it. I struggled through about 40 pages before deciding to put it down. That has been a wonderful discovery to me, enpowering myself to not finish a book (or other entertainment) when it isn't enjoyable, instead of forcing my way through.

I found the characters to be bland and boring. None of them pulled me into the story and I found I didn't care about them or what was going on (I say this when I was really interested in this story going in, being a big Magic fan and having a good supply of Vorthos in me). ( )

Pretty much as it says on the tin, Venser, Koth and Elspeth set out to quest for Karn. Koth is formal and stubborn, Elspeth is formal and slightly psychotic, Venser is informal and wry. Many gruesome scenes are encountered along the way, as well as Tezzeret, Ezuri and Melira, with Glissa being around, but never quite running into our three heroes.

Without Venser, this book would have probably gotten at least half a star less. I'm just not that into epic quests by formal Characters With Issues. As it was, I finished the book and didn't feel like I'd completely wasted my money, even if I'd sort of have liked to feel more at a character's death than 'oh well'. ( )