I seem to be finding the series where the second book is such fluffy filler that reading it hurts. Again I find good solid prose, complete thoughts. Again I run into too many characters, too much world jumping. Sometimes I think the author may have had three different ideas but couldn't work them all into three separate novels, so tried to meld them into one idea with three novels. With this novel, the world jumping doesn't happen as much, but the characters you meet grow immensely. This series probably won't remain in my collection, and I wouldn't really subject someone to this questionable prose. From a writer's standpoint, I learned more of what not to do. ( )