**edited 01/31/14 
 First of all, I want to point out that I'm in the minority here--scratch that, I'm practically alone in the universe-- in not finding myself enchanted by Wise Man's Fear. On GR alone, there are about 40,000 5-star ratings, about 5,000 positive reviews, and only 1% of the ratings are 2 or below. Readers of all varieties not only enjoy but adore this book, and I'll just say here and now that it's not only possible but actually probable that I simply lack the sophistication as a reader to "get it." Just as the multitude of positive reactions that praise its lyrical style, complex world, and interesting characters are obviously valid, I think I can explain why it didn't work for me. If you read and love WMF, please give me leave to read, dislike, and review it at my rather literal level. If you're thinking about reading it, then please take those 5,000 positive reviews into account. If you analyse books at my admittedly potentially less sophisticated level and, to paraphrase Austen, pictures of perfection make you sick and wicked, maybe you'll find my review helpful. Certain aspects of this book really pushed my buttons, and as I'm going to explain why, fair warning that my tone will range from exasperated to furious. If you haven't read the book, bear in mind that you will actually be a statistical anomaly if you dislike it--just go give it a try! 
 Maybe part of my venom stems from disappointment; I really, really wanted to like this book. Maybe it's because of my oversensitivity to over-perfect protagonists and what I interpreted as sexism. Maybe I just fail to appreciate the epic-ness of epic fantasy. It all comes down to this: for me, the protagonist needs to be the imperfect underdog. Why is it that Frodo was handed the ring and made into the main protagonist rather than, say, an uber-intelligent, uber-powerful elflord like Glorfindel (or a giant eagle, who could just fly straight to Mordor)? Why is it that every Greek hero, no matter how powerful, has a fatal flaw, an Achilles' heel? Why is it that Harry Potter was a middling student who only made it through school by cribbing Hermione's notes? Because for the story to have any suspense at all, our hero must be a pawn struggling against fate. If he's controlling the board, the game's just not fun any more. Because while we sympathize with characters who fail, it's hard to root for Mr. Perfect. When I read fantasy, I want a story where an ordinary character can rise up to affect the destiny of kings. 
 ... 
 Due to my disapproval of GR's new and highly subjective review deletion policy, I am no longer posting full reviews here. 
 The rest of this review can be found on Booklikes.