There's something very bitter about this book that I quite enjoy. It's nowhere near as frenetic as the last volume, although it's still full of action. Even with that action, however, all the impactful moments - at least for me - are emotional, and that's where the bitterness comes in: Jacob's faith in his parents, and how it isn't returned. His love for Emma, and how it's tainted by her feelings for his grandfather to the point where it may be unsustainable. His brief trips to the past, and how he's confronted by historical evils. And, finally, the knowledge that his heroics come largely from insecurity and pride and ignorance, and that he's screwing things up for everyone by thinking he's too good for the task assigned him. I rather suspect that the last will prove, in the next volume, to be false, but I hope not. I like the fact that this kid, thrown into a strange and terrifying world, has had success built out of luck and friends, but that this doesn't paper over how much his ignorance of a foreign culture disadvantages both him and everyone else. I like that he's resentful for being so poorly prepared, and is ashamed of his glory-seeking behaviour. This is young adult skewing heavily towards the adult, and Jacob's increasing maturity, and that little thread of bitterness within that maturity, is making him a much more interesting character than he's ever been before this.