That's okay, different people can like different things :) As for myself, I liked reading about some bits of Chinese history that I was not very familiar with,

That's okay, different people can like different things :) As for myself, I liked reading about some bits of Chinese history that I was not very familiar with, and it also provides a really good foundation for the reason behind the lead character's far-reaching actions. I also do think the best parts of the story do come later in books 2 and 3 - I like the larger-than-life ideas and the imperfect characters.