I'm not quite sure where to begin with this book. The idea is solid, but the execution leaves much to be desired. I would have expected more from Brandon Mull, but I can only assume he was curtailed by an overarching outline or big-wig interference, because there is none of Mull's lively imagination on display here. This is cut and paste fantasy of the laziest kind. Characters are prototypes and the world-building is non-existent. I don't know if I'll be bothering with further volumes in this series.