I don't know how to feel about this book. The problems it set up, the conflicts it presented, the questions it raised, the people it introduced...they were all brilliant and fascinating and thoroughly engrossing. Riveting, mind-expanding, so many delicious adjectives. Five-star adjectives, without question. Diverse, real, complex characters that deal with problems every bit as grand.

But then...everything just got tied up with such infuriating neatness. Deus ex machina that couldn't get more blatant if Zeus himself had descended from Olympus and manipulated things to their neat ends. All of the most crucial solutions - in addition to what will surely be the backbone of sequels - quite literally conjured out of nothingness. In fact, one could probably argue that things were tied up quickly and neatly in order to make way for the hastily-introduced seeds of the coming conflict.

I can't give it less than four stars because the majority of this book was just so strong, and the people you're introduced to, and the added depth to those you already knew, are entirely worth the journey. But the conclusions did little justice to the myriad complexities and richness of the problems that they solved. And that makes me sad. I'll just say that if you find yourself skimming once you hit 450 or 500, and completely giving up around 550...I'm not gonna argue with how you choose to spend your time.

All the same, this book and the people, peoples, and problems it introduced me to will remain with me long after I've forgotten how it ended. I loved this book. I just wish it could have had the conclusion it deserved.