Title: Disappointing...
Review: This book had a great start... 1)a city civilization fallen from technology on a distant planet, 2)an unusual social structure derived from Nazi socialism, 3)a threatening alien culture, and 4) religious/political intrigue.With all those ideas to build on, I expected an interesting read. However, the shallow characters and hollow dialogue robbed the plot of its depth. With the dark themes and cold brutality of many of the characters, it was probably a good thing that they weren't developed further. At least when (almost) all the characters die, I didn't really know them enough to care. The ending was a bloodbath that didn't resolve many of the open ends of the plot. I assume that in the next book, more of the ends will be tied up, but I don't care enough about the story or the characters to read it. As a work of literature, the book is consistent with its title - Hope's End. As a story, it falls apart.
Is this product review negative?