This novel, as others have noted, seems to drag the first half of the book, to such a degree that a few times I considered what else I had to read rather than continue with this book. Various characters are introduced, but for the most part have non-intersecting parts in the story.

With 'page 224' as some say, this begins to change and actual inter-character conflict begins. The novel becomes far more interesting, and I had trouble putting this one down to get much-needed sleep.

The magical system depicted here is something I haven't run into elsewhere, but does seem to follow at least some rules and have some limitations, though in practical terms readers really see no difference between one warren and another - the author has stated that he has kept the warrens and magical system intentionally vague. Participation of gods or demigods seemed a bit whimsical or plot-oriented but I will reserve judgement for now. There are so many factions involved, each with their own, often undescribed, powers and motives, that much remains unclear at the end of this story.

Obviously this is the first in what is planned to be a fairly long series (at least 6 books now) so I can only hope the author doesn't/hasn't fallen into the never-ending story trap some prominent fantasy authors have discovered (the trap is for readers, the authors probably do quite well with it).

IF you are reading this for the first time, at least get into the story beyond page 224 before condemning it totally. It gets a lot more interesting.

I picked this novel up after reading Glen Cook saying he enjoyed it in an interview.

After reading several reviews, I went into this book half-expecting to need to keep notes in order to understand anything. I was hugely surprised to find that, hey - there's a GLOSSARY included in the book. And when you come across a name you don't know...you can look it up! The definitions are only a sentence or two, just giving you the info you need to understand what's going on. My only conclusion is that 75% of the people who read this book did not even bother doing that, because the rest of the book is filled with awesome characters, humor, drama, action, adventure - everything you could ever ask for in your stories. And you don't need to have a PhD to understand that.

The other thing that may throw people off is that, unlike every other fantasy book out there, this does not start off in a Small Farm Village that Gets Destroyed. The main characters are not Average Joes/Janes who Get Caught Up in Destiny. There's a big war going on, and we're seeing that conflict from both the eyes of the people in charge, and the ones who are the pawns on the board. We see characters who are in the Malazan army, and we see characters who are in the city Malazan is invading next. So in the end, you won't be rooting for this army or that army, but the individual people who are fighting to stay alive each and every day.

There were SOME moments that kind of made me flinch...I did not like the way Whiskeyjack's character seemed to be the constant target of Exposition. I know it was supposed to make us root for him and his band, but I thought it could have been executed better. But this is the author's first book, and compared to the rest of this masterpiece...it's like complaining about a near-microscopic scratch on your new Jaguar.

Be warned before you start the last section of the book, called "The Fete" - MAKE SURE you have several free hours ahead of you. The mind-blowingly amazing, climactic events start occuring OVER 200 PAGES before the ending of the book. It was simply one of the best experiences I have ever had while reading a book.

OVERALL - this is an incredible book full of truly awesome characters (Annomander Rake and the Adjunct are huge highlights), incredible situations, and rich settings. You just can't ask for more.

Just...remember to check the glossary before plowing ahead when you come across a name you don't know. Like I said - ONE SENTENCE definitions, and they clear everything up.