This is kind of standard sword and sorcerer epic fantasy.

It has its flaws. I'm not sure if some of the writing around homosexuality has not aged well, or if I am just being oversensitive. The world building occasionally feels derivative (or at least not very innovative). For whatever reason, the language used to describe magic occasionally rubbed me the wrong way.

With the complaints out of the way, it is a good story with some engaging characters. It redeems itself somewhat by choosing not to have the happiest, tidiest possible ending. People have to make some difficult choices, and not everyone gets everything they want.

I listened to this on audiobook, so it kept me company though a lot of washing dishes and walking the dog. I'm not sure how I'd feel about reading that many pages.