Fallen Blade

The subject of McCullough's Fallen Blade series is fairly obvious from the title, yet the series has more depth than you may expect. The opening sucks the reader into the mind of an assassin without his order. With no solid job, Aral has fallen into a cycle of drinking, thievery, and smuggling. He wants this old life back, and when a delivery job goes sour he gets just that. From there, it's full of action, strong characters, death, and magic. It takes on the form of a mystery, stringing the reader along on a number of clues and forcing them to piece them together. Though there are natural lulls in the story, they're augmented by character building of Aral and his dragon familiar, Triss. This understanding is only heightened as McCullough continues his six book series, exploring both the relationship of Triss and Aral and the magic system that underlies them. You can't help but urge the protagonist along as he pulls himself out of depression and back into the role of a fighter. Read if you like: Strong characterization, interesting magic systems, mystery.