I cared about one half of the POVs rather more than the other half, so this book felt a bit uneven.  However, I think that's really a me-problem, since it would have been hard to tell the story any other way; it's very grand in scope & time.

Arachnaphobia warning, just in case you never read another thing about this story and need to know that.

I enjoyed this overall, and think it would be fine as a standalone ... there is a little trailer for the next book, but I'm comfortable ignoring it :)