Troy Pavlek

It was a bit tough to get into, the writing is very matter-of-fact and feels somewhat dull at first. About halfway through my brain clicked and that the writing style really synergized with Richard's perspective of simply absorbing the wonder and richness of the world, without really buying into it. It got much more enjoyable to read after I sort of turned the critical part of my brain off.

Solid reacd.

Overall I would call this book a "slog".

The first novel is great, an absolute page-turner and I think functions well enough as an independent work. I wish I hadn't read the followup.

There are so many interesting concepts and story threads in the book, just enough to keep me reading when most of the chapters made me want to put it down. That's the slog.