Granted, this book is supposed to be the first of a trilogy, but the story is nevertheless self-contained, and in my opinion it just went nowhere. The story was unengaging, the characters sometimes improbable, sometimes just flat and boring. The setting, which seems to be the novel’s selling point, was no doubt carefully developed, but failed to capture the imagination at all. After finishing the last page, the only sentiment I could muster was “well, I’m glad that’s finally over.”