You're not the first person to say that to me. This is my first Kay, so I don't have comparisons. I can see where people are coming from -- these are books I keep wanting to recommend with a lot of caveats like 'you have to go in knowing,' and 'just keep going until.'

Funny you should talk about the our world characters. I've been thinking about them, and how the way they react to various high fantasy elements is just completely wrong. Like they don't even blink at the first crossing over into the other world. And it's weird to read and feels awkward, but I'm starting to see the purpose in the bigger structure. Which I think is what I'm going to work through in reviewing the final book.