It's been a while since I read a book that engaged so much that it was hard to mark it as finished. While the first 25 to 30 chapters were a bit tough to get through, mainly because I had to get used to the omniscient style of narration that involved some serious head hopping, the endearing characters kept me hooked and I'm glad I stayed on. The story is quite simple and features a standard hero's journey with misunderstood magic and a clearly distinguished good vs evil conflict, and yet, I found myself rooting for Falco and his friends and empathizing with their losses. The story is long, but strangely by the end, I wished it were longer. Would've given it 5 stars if it wasn't for the relatively slower start for me.