Since we are at an interim, waiting for the next chapter to appear, I suppose I will post my thoughts on the story so far.
As I have been reading, this work has reminded me of several other pieces of literature that I have read, and am fond of. The first and most powerful theme would have to be of course the "Rip Van Winkle" effect. I am sure every child in America has been told this fairy tale. At that age it was one of my favorites and I used to fantasize often about it. I always thought that the author didn't do the idea justice and ruined and extremely good idea. I see this work taking that idea and developing it much further. I think the idea of sleeping 200, or even 2000 years and waking up intact and not aged is totally awesome. Good call on that one
I am also enjoying the slow development of this story. The author is very good at giving out just enough information, at just the right time. I have read many "mysterious" pieces of literature that leave you hanging at the end of the book. You still have no idea about the Universe they were trying to depict, the interaction between the mystical forces and the characters and its various properties. Here I felt like I was in the dark, but slowly it is coming together. That makes the journey and the experience so much more enjoyable for me.
The dichotomies presented so far are very amusing. You have the main hero who is racked by the evils he has committed. He is forced to seek help from the "dark" gods who could be construed as evil, but who knows whether they are or not. His female helper turns out to be the woman he hated most while he was alive and I have a sense that he is going to have to atone for her death to appease her spirit and his own guilty conscience. His only friend in his current living time is most likely going to be one of his greatest enemies. I am of course referring to Frost.
Finally I have a suspicion and I will bound this with spoiler tags so people can stay ignorant, that the identity of the armour clad warrior
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is actually his old friend Vast. Why would I say this? Because this mysterious soldier has been with "The Master" since they started the conquest of Magus. Because that conquest started shortly after Matheius's sleep began. Because he taught Frost, a top level blademaster, and it was said that there are only 3-7 people at Frosts level at that time. If my guess turns out to be correct, we have 2 or possibly 3 epic fights to look forward to.
For what I have read so far, I hope that it is only an introduction. I feel like I have so much to learn about the world. I also enjoy the adventures of the main hero Mat. I am constantly wondering what he has hidden up his sleeve. I also remembered seeing glimpses of Drizzt Do'Urden and the Wheel of Time. They don't carry strong overtones, so the story isn't polluted but I just remember thinking at one point or another that there was a resemblance. Fear not, though, this story is unique enough that it carries itself.