What did I think? I think that Brent Weeks is a very good story teller, but can get carried away with over doing characters. This book should be a solid 4 stars and I should be excited about going into book 2. However, the over writing of the character Kip was a massive turn off for me. Kip is a fat kid living in a village about to have his world turned upside down. He suffers from a lack of confidence, which Weeks uses to massively overdose us with Kips self loathing and self depreciating. It doesn't stop, as soon as the story is told from inside Kips head it is teeth gnashingly painful. Over and over again. I understand that what Weeks is doing is building a character here, but in listening to it in audio I found it at times too horrible to listen too. It just didn't end. 
 Right, that was the shit part of the book and I am hoping that Weeks realised that and backs off a bit in book 2. The rest of the book is actually a really good read. I really like the color magic here, it is interesting and well thought through. I am quite certain that we will learn more about the magic system in the next book and it is certainly something that I am looking forward too. 
 There is a pretty good world building and a couple of characters to either like or hate (excluding Kip), I really like Gavin's father, Chief Rd guy, a great cranky old man character and I can't help but see him as Tywin Lannister. 
 Gavin and Karis's relationship is a bit wanky, but the reasons behind it are pretty solid, so I can see past that. All in all a pretty good book one, I expect more in two and as i said earlier. A four star except the excruciating whining of Kip.