I had to check my previous blogs to make sure that it was actually SIX MONTHS ago that I began reading Dark Journey. For most of that time, I ignored it, never being tempted to pick it up. Last week I decided to keep reading. And two days ago, I decided to stop reading it for good, and started reading Rebel Dream.

Yesterday, I finished Rebel Dream. Yeah, I read it in a day. Dark Journey: Six months to read a third of it. Rebel Dream: One day.

I have officially confirmed that how much I like a book is inversely proportional to the time it takes me to read it.

Now I'm well into Rebel Stand, and it's impossible to read it without looking back on Dark Journey with shame. I was bored on every page of Dark Journey. But Rebel Stand is too interesting. There are a ton of different things going on, and I'm interested in all of them. I'm actually getting frustrated because the story keeps jumping around so quickly when I want to hear more about the current scene. It's like there are five different carrots hanging in front of me, and I can't stop chasing any of them, and I'm not catching up to them fast enough.

Oh, and I've mentioned before that I've never ever been convinced that Mara and Luke make a good couple, but in these two books, I'm finally seeing something. for the first time ever, Luke isn't just a acquiescent wuss for Mara, and Mara isn't excessively snide to Luke. They're just two different people who really care for each other.

Aaron Allston, you're freaking amazing.