A rollercoaster book that alternates between intensity and info-dumping, but still somehow the prose gives literally everything a sensuousness that borders frightening. I could do without the pieces of making out with his mom, but like, whatever.

I think I liked book one better, although this book had substantially more plot, but book one focused more on the ideas of the use of religion, ethics, and morality all while operating on a cloud of unanswerable questions. This one the philosophies entered more into western/eastern good/evil dichotomies, which isn't as fun when someone/thing must be vilified and all the questions seem to be answered and leave nothing fun to sit on and think about.

The one quote that sits with me still though, is great:
Old truths and ancient magic, revolution and invention, all conspire to distract us from the passion that in one way or another defeats us all.
And weary of this complexity, we dream of that long-ago time when we sat upon our mother's knee and each kiss was the perfect consummation of desire. What can we do but reach for the embrace that must now contain both heaven and hell: our doom again and again and again.