I love the worldbuilding, and faux-Renaissance fantasy is always a favorite. It got really dark, though, as in I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading, but I took a break and then plowed on. Although there is hope at the end, it's so tempered with darkness at the protagonist's elbow (as he would himself admit), that while I'm interested to see how this world plays out, I'm not sure how actively excited I am to see it all end miserably. The writing is excellent, and the characters are very compelling--I just think I don't have the same taste for grimdark that I used to.