I really had to force myself to get through this book. The characters are introduced in a prologue that explains the past four books, but there is so much information laid out that it fails at its purpose. In one sense, I like Martin's writing, but in most cases I do not. It gets tiring reading the same italicized names for vampires and werewolves. Nothing here is original. We have a powerful king, a bard, villains who wear black robes and are a cult, a lame magic system, zombies, ghosts, vampires, and werewolves.I randomly picked this book up, so that's my fault, since I did no research before purchasing. I will not bother with the next book in the cycle, as the first one moved at such a slow pace and failed to keep me wanting more. Three stars are given since I did find some of the characters enjoyable, the writing was smooth for the most part, and I was mildly interested in some of the well-written action. However, the unoriginality, slow pace, lack of events, and boring characters have left me irritated at the author's work. In the end, the book does start to pick up the pace, as beginning at Chapter 15 I found myself truly interested in the book. It's a shame that the elements before this chapter left me struggling to pick this book up and finish it. Would I recommend it to most readers? Probably not, as most do not have such patience and are not as forgiving when reading a novel. Though I state that I will not pick up the next book, The Dread, that may be a lie. However, I do not plan to do so any time soon. This is a great book, however, it would be best if the reader also read the other books in this series (Chronicles of the Necromancer). While both series of books stand on their own, this book is really part 5 (and The Dread is part 6) of the Summoner books.It follows the main characters from the other series, but also adds one new Character "Aidane", and expands on some minor characters from the original books.I particularly loved Aidane's character, she has a unique occupation, and the chapters that followed her tended to be the most emotional.All in all, a great read, I would recommend this to anyone that likes Epic Fantasy.
What do You think about The Sworn (2011)?
Awsome! Gale continues to impress. She has become among my top 5 authers.
—Myrage
Loved it! Can't wait for the next one. 2012 seems to far away.
—kimmi
