Rating: 
Summary: In a word, "Meh."
Review: The fantastical elements of the Runelords universe is, in my opinion, marvelous. I love the concept of endowments, and of the nature of elemental magic in Farland's series. As for everything else, though...it just doesn't toot my horn.
I find Gaborn and Iome, the two main protagonists to be sickening in their virtue and honor. I can't find myself relating to either of them. These musty old stock-characters just don't think or feel like any real human being would. The other characters, though, are of fairly respectable craftsmanship.
The build-up in this book takes too long, and the climax was lacking. "Brotherhood of the Wolf" is on par with "Runelords," but both get their butts kicked by "Wizardborn," the third book in the series. I would recommend wading through this mediocre book, if only so you'll understand what's happening in the third book in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: It took some time before the action picked up, but once it did the tension never let up. It was a great read. The pace of the story continues at breakneck speed. The events all take place over a little more than three days. The fast pace of the events lends a sense of urgency to the book. The characterization has improved with each of the main characters becoming more fully fleshed out. Gaborn's stubborn insistence on torturing himself for his inability to protect all of his people can be tiresome however. One thing I noticed that is so often missing from other fantasy novels is the inclusion of minor characters that have real personalities and real motivations. So often these one scene characters are used just to push a plot line along or to give the main characters something to do. I found the elderly woman who refused to leave her home in Sylvarresta touching and fascinating, there are dozens of very minor characters that are more than just two dimensional they resonate as fully formed characters in their own right. The system of magic is fully developed and internally consistent. The concept of using 'endowments' from donors to strengthen human attributes is both a plausible magic system and useful in defining the military actions undertaken by both Gaborn and Ahtan. Farland thrusts Gaborn and his other point-of-view characters from one dilemna to the next, never giving them or the reader the opportunity to pause or put the book down I look forward to learning more about dedicants and what motivates people to cripple themselves for the sake of another. It would be very interesting to have a viewpoint character wrestling with the decision to provide an endowment and gain some understanding of what that means to that person and why they would do such a things. One of the emerging strengths of this series seems to be the inhuman Reavers. Rather than simply making them mindless evil monsters Mr. Farland is providing them with a society, a history and a form of magic unique to them. Wile I doubt that these creatures could ever become sympatric it is good that we are given an insight into what their world is like and why they are invading the surface world at all. Another strong aspect is the character of Raj Ahtan. In my review of the first book "Runelordes," I complained that Raj Ahtan was a little too stereotypical in his hunger for power and glory; this has been corrected as we learn more about this man's history and his obsession with becoming the sum of all men. It is a rare achievement when the quality of a series goes up with the publication of the second book.
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