Overall, I enjoyed this trilogy a lot less than the first time I read it, as a teenager. My tastes, and my ability as a writer, have very much matured since then, and I found myself repeatedly annoyed at the amateurish descriptions and relentless purple prose scattered throughout the books. Still, the vision is there, even if it is not always fully delivered upon, and I am glad I read them this second time. (there will not be a third)