The series is wildly scattered and yet pieces of it are very entertaining. Skipped sequences with characters I did not care much for (such as Capone). Some credit should be given simply for the author's ability to write 4500 pages in one world, which is no mean feat. I do think this would have been a much stronger series with stronger editing and authorial brutality - the central theme is interesting, but I think it could have been handled more directly.


I also found the ending disappointing, perhaps inevitably, but the idea of 'swallowing' for FTL travel, that then leads to an omnipotent God-creature that can solve all the problems is very weak. It felt as though having created 4000 pages of backstory, the author reealized he didn't have a clue how to end things properly.