Beautiful Chaos

So, this is still a really well-written series, with a rich cast of characters and a fully-realized setting that puts The Caster Chronicles ahead of several similar series. However, this installment – by and large – seems rather pointless. Its main task seems to be setting the stage for Book 4.

Yes, there's some character development – but not enough, it's like they're afraid to go too far with some of the supporting characters (like Link and Ridley) at this point, they have to leave something for the next installment. Yes, we get some vital back story, but . . . well, that's pretty much it. There's a couple hundred pages of set up, a quick action scene and a conclusion that isn't.

A few other notes:
* It took Ethan and Lena far too long to decode the song lyrics. They've been doing this for about 2 years now, right? And they're this slow? Hard to root for people when they're acting far stupider than they are – especially this many of them at once.
* For people who talk about loving and respecting each other as much as these people do – they don't communicate. On those rare occasions when they do, actual progress is made. Amma and Ethan, in particular, should've conversed, not hidden things from each other.
* For a series with such a strong sense of place, man, these authors show such contempt for the citizenry and culture of Gatlin. Isn't it possible to talk about problems with the society without vilifying it?
* I was unclear whether the devastation brought about by Lena's choice (and Abraham Ravenwood & Co's reaction to it) was limited to Gatlin, or if it extended beyond that. If it's just Gatlin – where's the press, the scientific community, the feds, looky-loos, etc. converging on the area to investigate it? If it's a larger area affected, what are the explanations? Assuming they're able to defeat Abraham in the next book, how does the world go back to normal?
* So many things – Ethan's taste issues, Link's abilities, foremost amongst them – are introduced, and explored a little bit, and then dropped. Why?

I have confidence that Garcia and Stohl will pull this off (mostly) in the last 50 pages or so of Beautiful Redemption, and this will just fade into memory as a prolonged setup. But right now, it's left a sour taste in my mouth.