Good versus Evil
This novel and its fellow entries in the series to which they belong owe more than a passing debt of gratitude to the granddaddy of all fantasy fiction, The Lord of the Rings. Since it is fantasy, that means that by definition its overarching theme is related to the existence good and evil and the battle that takes place between the two extremes. Fantasy fiction is a genre that is not particularly accepting of moral ambiguity as readers have come to expect as a given that they will enter into a more comforting world of strict delineations of who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. The dramatic conflict arises not out of the shades of grey lying between them, but rather than the actual possibility that good could be overcome by evil. Which is why fantasy is a genre also defined by multi-book series: while good or evil could conceivably prevail, it should not be an easy victory but instead go back and forth like a high-scoring football game.
Do the Right Thing
This theme is also pervasive in the genre. In fact, without the existential urge to do that which is right, most of the stories could be told in a single volume. A contributing element to fantasy that is on full display here is also the closest the genre ever gets to actual moral relativism and the possibility of a realm more sophisticated than simple good versus evil. Those in the service of the agents of evil cannot simply be out to do evil. The aptly named antagonist of the novel, the Dark One, is truly an agency of malevolence because rather than acting directly to influence events, he is pretty much limited to guiding others to his cause.
Although not impossible, it is usually much easier to recruit an army of darkness by convincing them that they are the ones doing the right thing rather than trying to sell them on the value of doing the wrong thing. And so this novel follows squarely along the fantasy genre convention that a battle between good and evil must be framed among the participants as a battle in which both sides are convinced they are the good and the other is the evil.
Gender Conventions
Unlike some of the more secondary themes explored in the novel, the focus on issue of gender convention, expectations, and stereotypes is something that is more aptly described as explored rather than asserted. It is notable that reader opinions are split over how the divide between the masculine and the feminine are presented in the story. Perceptual differences allow two different readers of the exact same material to arrive at equidistant interpretations: either the book is a leap forward in the presentation of gender equality or it is just a more artfully veiled affirmation of patriarchy. How the author actually handles this theme is much more dependent upon what each reader brings to the story than are the other major encompassing thematic concerns.
