And finally it’s over! I did enjoy this series, but it’s practically unheard of for me to be reading one trilogy for three months! It’s loooong!!

I did wonder how everything was going to finish, especially as the pace didn’t seem remarkable speeded-up as I went into the final 1200-page tome. It’s not that nothing’s happening, it’s just that there’s a lot of it, and Hamilton – while not overwhelming you with detail by any means – does just seem to have a lot to say about a lot of characters.

By this third instalment, the major characters have been identified – more or less, with some significant people trailing away in importance almost without you noticing. In fact, there seems to be a lot that was given a fair bit of time previously that now seems largely irrelvant – a minor annoyance, as what IS going on still kept my attention.

Full marks that enough of – if not all, but none you’d really miss – the plot lines are tied up, and without any sense of rushing to finish.

There’s a guide (The Confederation Handbook) and set of short stories (A Second Chance At Eden) which I’m curious to see if/how they carry the story forward.