(See below) Well, since we didn't get to meet Tom Orley and company, everything is not forgiven. Quite the contrary. Too many unresolved issues and deus ex machina rescues and very little character development combine to make this book a very disappointing ending for the series. That is, if this is the ending, which is in doubt considering Brin's last words in the book. The book does pick up the pace once more, so it's not all bad.