Bruce -
Acacia could have been a great fantasy novel. The story line was there- an assassin kills the king of Acacia and his four children are spirited away to the four corners of the kingdom to one day return to fight for the throne their family held for generations. But the writing was lacking. I'm not sure I can even explain why but reading the novel felt like swimming against the current- it took a lot of effort to gain little ground. The last 150 pages were fast moving and worthy of an epic fantasy novel. You just have to get through the first 400 pages. But I will read the second installment.
