After reading the first 2 books I couldn't wait to finish off the series. I enjoyed it like the previous books, but too many of the good guys die in accomplishing the quest. I did think it ended a little abruptly with not much detail about what happens to the characters after they defeat Maldor. This book felt the most like the Lord of the Rings - two major storylines happening independently of each other with each chapter switching back and fort. An unlikely hero, the seeming invincibility of the bad guy, the hopelessness of the quest, the small little thing on which the whole story turns are very similar in concept to the Lord of the Rings story.