Shadowfall by James Clemens

An interesting work of fantasy. Sort of formulaic, sort of original, left me sort of satisfied. The story of Tylar de Noche, a broken ShadowKnight (sworn protector of the realm), who witnesses the murder of a God. Falsely accused of the crime, he must flee across the land to restore his name and learn the secret of the murder mystery. Simultaneously, it's the story of Dart, a young orphan, growing up at a reasonable shadow facsimile of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as she struggles to come to grips with her station in life. She's assaulted by a teacher in a secluded wing of the school. Shamed by her rape, she thinks her life is over, until she realizes that she is involved in a murder mystery as well. She is whisked away across the land to find her place and learn the secret of the murder mystery. As the two stories move close to convergence, the pair ally themselves with the usual suspects (thieves, wildmen, trackers, rogue knights, pirates, etc). The final battle is but the first, since this book is part one of a series.

The aspect of Gods made flesh brings some interesting twists to the story, but it does tend to lull in the first 300 pages. Once it gets rolling towards its inevitable and somewhat predictable conclusion, the story is enjoyable. I'm not sure if I'll seek out book 2, but I'm interested enough to see what happens next. A far more interesting play on this concept can be seen in Brandon Sanderson's Elantris, a stand-alone epic and amazing first novel.