Marked as DNF 8/1/15: SIGHHHH okay. I'm done with this. I made it over 100 pages in and just for the life of me could not get into it. Clearly with the good ratings, it's a case of "It's not you, it's me" and I just couldn't help but feel like it was a poor man's Name of the Wind with a dash of Harry Potter. 
 I think part of it was also the alternate history but it's set in the future with a dash of steampunk. I couldn't ever get the feel of what the era was really supposed to feel like and that's usually a killer for me. If I can't get a grip on the timing or setting, I will be constantly lost. 
 The book wasn't really coming together for me and it took me over two weeks to even make it a quarter of the way through which is appalling for me. It just wasn't working. I have to move on to something that will hold my attention. If I kept pushing through, maybe I would have enjoyed the second half more but I just couldn't get invested in the beginning and found myself skimming to get to more exciting parts. 
 I guess I can't say much about the rules of the "magic system" since I maybe didn't make it far enough but I wasn't thrilled with how little explanation there was in the beginning. Maybe that's another reason I had such a hard time. I appreciate reveals and explanations later in the book but give me something to work with in the beginning! 
 Also couldn't shake the Name of the Wind feeling and you just can't compare to Rothfuss. *shrug* Just not for me, I guess!