This is one of the handful of books I bought and could not finish. 
 I know people love Tad Williams and the book has good reviews but its one that I couldn't get into. 
 The biggest problem to me is the style. Ever see a movie where the protagonist turns around looks right at the audience and addresses them directly, that's what this feels like only they do it all the time. 
 To me it robbed the story of tension, made the fight scenes boring because it felt like you knew the protagonist made it and everything ended up working because they are there looking you in the eye and winking at you.