Wizard's First Rule

Protagonist is an ‘Angry Young Man'... Check. Has great hidden powers... Check. Meets a beautiful maiden at the beginning of the tale... Check. Falls madly in love with her... Check. Has powerful friends (Wizard / Warrior)... Check. His enemies are even more powerful, and are absolutely Evil (with a capital E)... Check. I could go on and on.

If someone were to sit and create a template for Fantasy-Action-Adventure genre, they'd be wasting their time - ‘Cuz this book is IT.

And I can't really recommend it or, the rest of the 12 books in the series. If its action you're looking for, there are better options - Gemmell's works, for example. If its quality of writing and a believable world, there are better - check out Guy Gavriel Kay or Dan Simmons. And if you have the time to invest in a epic storyline, you could do better there as well - see David Eddings' or Robert Jordan's work (though those aren't exactly high quality either, just better).

This book is just so... mediocre. I felt like stopping more than a few times, but I plowed through - to an ending that I saw coming a mile (and a half) away.