First two books were solid across the board. Production was great on this one too, but man, all that train exposition was a slog. I kept not paying attention and backing up to replay, until I just decided, “who the hell cares,” and kept it playing. I still have no notion how The Tangle or portals worked, what was the point of the mimics or the crackarens. Basically, I stuck around for the characters, and I will pick up the fourth book because I suspect the author won’t do that again. Still, despite its flaws, this author’s work here is not nearly as hackneyed as most ‘modern’ writers who write for ‘modern’ audiences.