I'm officially giving up since I haven't touched this thing in over a month. If a story doesn't own me after reading 400+ pages then I need to move on. I hear from others that the last 20 percent picks up but I can't make it through any more of the current pacing to find out. So I'm just going to read all the spoiler reviews and consider this thing over. 
 I feel so much better after finally having made that decision.