Mr. Duncan concludes his tale is a most satisfying fashion. I won't give too much away.
One of the things that he does so well is to convey the duality, the paradoxes, and the many ironies that populate the human condition. For example, consider the pantheon he creates.
Ucrists...worshipers of the god Ucr...obtain great skill at accumulating wealth. The price they pay is that they can never know real happiness. How many times do we see people confusing the acquisition of lucre for the pursuit of happiness?
Worshipers of Eriander know love and lust in all it's forms. Yet the price they pay is to never be loved by another.
Nastrarians possess great affinity for animals. Yet the apparent price they pay is their ability to relate to other humans.
Worshipers of Anziel can produce great works of inspiring art. The price they pay is that they lack the ability to manage the money earned through commissions and are forever poor.
The one disappointing element of this pair of books is that the story is told via exceptional characters. The four main protagonists are a sort of royalty. So too are many of the other characters both good and evil. While there are most certainly characters of common origin found within the story, It hinges most often upon...the 1%...to use an well worn phrase.
In any case, if you took my advice and read the first book, then by all means read the second. The endings are well worth the effort.
This was my first time reading a book via my beloved bride's Kindle. I found the experience to be most enjoyable. The Kindle is not only less cumbersome than a dead tree book, the case we bought allows me to set it on our bed so that I can read without actually holding it. Most convenient!
My wife had already downloaded several games that were quite fun to play. Shopping with it was seamless.
I look forward to my next experience with the Kindle!
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