I rarely have harsh words for any book or author. That being said, I still do not! Wow, what a well-built world, secondary characters temporary or permanent so far are robust without taking away from the driving force of this story. Well written battle scenes that hang on the edge of realism, with a twist of the mystical, no punches pulled with the gritty details, while still being anything but a gore fest. Mini plot twists that add to the bigger picture are delightfully injected in proper form. The ups and downs are well balanced with a sense of ever rising achievements with just enough setbacks to be believable. I sincerely hope that the rest of this series continues to give me 5 Star reasons to leave these reviews. Kudos Dan!