3/5 A Slow, Slow Downturn
  by L. B. Bryant (Astoria, OR)
What was supposed to be the volume that got me excited to see the climatic final episodes to this series instead left me with a very "blah" feeling. While the closing moments of the volume have made me curious enough that I want to see how it ends, I'm nowhere near as excited to see it as I was six episodes ago. For some reason, the staff behind this series felt that they could develop the deep political intrigue of the series or they could develop the characters but not both. Sadly this has created a series that could have been so much more if it had characters that I had formed some kind of attachment too. A let down to be sure, we'll have to wait and see how this one ends. Honestly though, at this point I can't blame anyone who decides that they just don't care anymore.