Most of the reviews here are spot on. The book starts with a bang, and the author has some interesting idea's, especially with his adding and subtracting of attributes. Its a clever twist that adds a good moral dilemma to magic power which is interesting. Sadly, however, the book gets a little lost and, for me, the main character does not convince. The biggest disappointment is how obviously he is setting this up for other books. Still, it is an interesting take on the genre and will appeal to certain readers.