Rune,
I've read Kearney's Monarchies Of God series and really enjoyed it. YES it does start off a little slowly and is not as polished or well edited as other fantasy books but it was basically his first major fantasy series and in parts the prose and storyline reached high points.
The
Mark Of Ran I've also read and it's easily
one of the best fantasy books of 2005 IMHO. You'll notice the contrast in this book and Monarchies, Kearney really has improved as a writer I think, the writing and style is much tighter and more polished in Mark Of Ran. This book for me is on a par with JV Jones Sword Of Shadows trilogy or Greg Keyes Knigdom Of Thorn and Bone if that helps.
You may also be glad to know that this Sea Beggars series is intended to really be a series of standalone novels/stories although a couple of the characters will appear throughout the series as it follows their adventures. Having said that there's a number of loose ends or storyline that can still go places by the end of this first book.
Let us know how you go..