Many people say this is a classical fantasy epic, and in a sense they are right. Plenty of spells, plenty of fights, touring of the realms, and of course the number one bad guy is a father of the number one good guy. The storytelling itself is not bad either - it does have the magnetic quality to it that keeps you reading.
I do have a few objections though. What seemed a bit strange to me at times is the way the heroes constantly remind each other of how important their task is and how they would not hesitate to sacrifice anything for it. I also find the descriptions of violent acts a bit more graphic than necessary, as if the author thought nobody would quite grasp the amount of pain involved if he didn't hammer the point home. There are also a few moments in the text where the heroes act out of character, such as Richard lecturing Zedd on the use of magic.
To get back to the good points, one thing I particularly like is that the book has a distinct ending - one can enjoy it without having to delve immediately into the next volume of the series (I wish Robert Jordan would read this :-).
Rated as average by Ceres on 1999-02-06
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