All is relative. If I were asked my opinion based on the fact what kind of books I truly enjoy to read nowadays the answer would be: 'Nothing like this, really.'
However sometimes I have to think back to when I was just beginning to find the world of books. Back then this sort of book would have been quite a good. It truly depends on how one looks into things: what it comes to true high fantasy capable to swallow you completely - this is not THE book.
BUT it is quite nice book for the lot somewhere between childhood and being called young adults. It's for the ones swinging back and fort trying to decide if they could have a peek into fantasy literature but do not have stomach for the full scale of it. Put it together with its sequels and they make a nice set of low fantasy for younger population.
This is why I think it's worth of three stars: if I were younger it would deserve more, if I judged it by my present standards it would deserve less - so this is a nice middle point. Like the whole book, it's somewhere in the middle.