I finished both books and can honestly say they were among the most difficult novels I have ever read for a couple reasons. Obviously, the schizophrenic writing style and blurred timelines contribute and in my opinion added very little to a more traditional narrative. Furthermore, some of the storylines compelled me not at all and others were just retreads of other stories (which, I admit was likely the point) so if you aren't scratching your head your often bored. An underlying main plot dealing with the overthrow of the "angels" shares themes with His Dark Materials and shows a great deal of potential. It climaxes at the end of Vellum and actually incited some anxiousness for the second book to come. Unfortunately, the second book is even less cogent and only tangentially deals with culmination of this plot. I think that was most the difficult part for me; the Vellum and the nature of gods should be fertile ground for an excellent story. Yet, Duncan squanders it trying to write "serious" literature. I don't think I have ever said this about anyone before, but Duncan was definitely trying to hard.
