Cadderly the demigod
While I enjoyed the premise, improved villians, and character development during the first 3 novels in this series, I found myself unable finish the 4th, as Cadderly has grown from a talented but sorely inexperienced initiate of Deneir to a virtual demigod.The attaction of Cadderly to me was the idea of a heroic character who survived as much on wits, intelligence, and able teamwork as overpowering force. And while this often held true through the initial books in this series, Cadderly is a one man wreaking crew here, his otherwise potent companions often serving as little more than conversation pieces and humour devices. Ancient red dragons, interplanar beings, arch magicians, the outcome of any encounter is never in doubt. Honestly, the only apparent way to defeat Cadderly is to gag him. While others may appreciate a seemingly omnipotent hero, I was gradually left without any feeling of suspense, and ultimately a lack of any interest to continue reading.