Well that was a quick resolution to the problem with Mako; I was fully expecting it to get drawn out over at least three volumes, so I feel a bit cheated. Make quite conveniently constructed his own downfall by creating a self-contained universe for his ally and underestimating Constantine's power. Even against a mage who had harnessed so much magic, all John had to do was to wait until he was inside the soul-world and sever the connection to his body. Slightly convenient, but sometimes the simplest solutions are those overlooked by the powerful - and taken advantage of by an opportunist like Constantine.

What is really surprising is John's confrontation with the soul (?) of his twin. Apparently the fated "Laughing Magician" has been keeping residence inside a corner of John's mind, pulling the strings to push John down some very bad paths, and waiting until he was weak enough to take over. Of course, John, being the hell-be-damned upstart that he is, used his own power to get rid of the interloper once and for all. If this twin was the real reason why John has taken so many wrong turns in the past it should be interesting to see whether his absense will reveal a "better" Constantine. ( )