A little less ‘D&D’-y than its predecessor, but a little more needlessly complex mythology. A lot of deus ex machinas at work here. On the positive side, some nice subversion of expectations (no one gets the princess).

The next volume, while a direct sequel to this one, I gather, is more of a novel within the same world than a continuation of the same storyline. And I’ll probably read it, but I won’t rush. Does that make sense?