At around the halfway mark of this, I nearly gave up. Something was preventing this book from holding my attention. The pacing seemed glacial, the characters seemed flat. I don't know what it was.
And then, it changed. And while the ending is of the tried and tested predictable variety, it held enough surprises, twists and turns to make the ending all the more bittersweet.

Will I continue these books?
I don't know. I'll see how I feel in a months time, when curiosity will lead me to want to find out about the earlier adventures, and possibly delve further into the Age prequels.