Moving on from Part 1 on the characters and shipping, this section of the review is about the main adversaries Amon and the Equalists. I'd like to talk about why these guys (and they do mostly seem to be guys, though I'd love a ruthless female villain, too) are so dangerous, and why they make excellent long-term adversaries.

But good as he is Amon will slip, I think, and he will have blind spots occasioned, perhaps, by his very brilliance. And it is that moment, when the writer's stand-in loses control and the story takes on a life of its own, that truly great story is born. I look forward to that moment, because the bigger they are, the harder they fall--and what a show that will be. I will revel in Amon's fall, even as I mourn what is already proving to be a great villain.