This is a brilliant book that annoyed the hell out of me. Well, I should say, Jimmy annoyed the hell out of me. His non-stop whining and moping and drinking. Not Jimmy-as-the-Snowman--his whining and moping and drinking are perfectly understandable. No, Jimmy as the poor pitiful student whose mother left him and whose daddy never quite loved him and who never quite measured up in spite of having money and opportunity. There is nothing quite so boring to read as a depressed, cynical young adult (although I doubt I felt that way when I was one myself). 
 Fantastic setting though, and that's why I'll be reading the next in the series.