I thought they were both pretty fun, but I also don't get the "This is the Awesomest Thing in the History of Forever" reviews they seem to get from many people. My theory is that there's a certain set of personality types that this really clicks with, since I can almost feel that there's something powerful there, but can't quite touch it myself.

The second book is slightly better, but not enough so that it's worth picking up if you weren't at least on the borderline with how much you liked the first one.

The overall tone of this review really reminded me of my reaction to A Game of Thrones. Talk about too much slog for too little payoff...