*shudder* Croggon's initial ideas are sound and fair for fantasy, but she completely loses her writing ability as the plot progresses in both the Riddle and The Gift.
The Gift and the Riddle were filled with the same monotonous cycles of events with the addition of some flashy ideas which Croggon inserted into the book. As i read it, i noticed that she was repeating the same formula of describing the lands they passed through as they travelled, to describing the town and the people, then describing every painful morscle of food Maerad ate, to then the pressing plot at hand. I'm sorry, but that just became compeltely boring, more often than not i'd find her talking about food when you, the reader, knows that explanation is completely displaced.
What's more is the constant referrences to Gilman's Cot in the second book. The second of the series, of all places to talk about the very first setting! I think i'll read The Crow just to see if Hem keeps referring to Norloch or his 'enormous appetite'!
On a final note, it was a BIG turn off to see Maerad lose some of her fingers. That sent of warning signals, it sounded like a really bad move for Croggon to make. Decapitating your hero makes a cliche struggle for victory for the rest of the series. What's more is the writer needs some sense of empathy to write, and last time i checked Croggon has all of her fingers.
Well, there was chunks of it i did like, and i could rant about it at the same length i have here.
-End Rant-