I haven't read those, actually, but West is certainly not the only author to do that sort of thing. Otherland, for example, has similar issues, but then Williams admits this and openly says all four books are really one long one. I don't personally mind reading an entire book of prologue if the world and story require that much set-up to make sense, but I know some people do.
Thinking back on it, I think The Hidden City is also the only book so far in which Evayne does not appear at all. It's kind of surprising - her presence has been one of the threads tying all the other books together until then, so her absence is notable.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regna
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-09 20:43 (UTC)Thinking back on it, I think The Hidden City is also the only book so far in which Evayne does not appear at all. It's kind of surprising - her presence has been one of the threads tying all the other books together until then, so her absence is notable.