I forgot all about my attempt at reading this. I guess my memory has a great terrible-book-defense-mechanism. I tried to read this book when I was young, but I just could not get past the pacing. UUUHHH, its pacing and bland writing reminds me of The Silmarillion *Shudders* I think I got to page 120 before I just couldn't take it anymore. The plot started to move around then, but yet it still managed to feel plot-less! Honestly, I feel like bad translation might have been a part of it. But I'm not sure, so I can't really put fault there. But who knows? Maybe the German version is better. 
 Too bad I'm only learning French and Japanese