come together by the end of the series. And because he explains so little in the stories, it is frustrating when it seems like he is starting over with completely different characters in a completely different place. Like I said in my previous note, you miss so many connections the first time through the series because it all seems somewhat random. After the end of the series, you better see how it all led up to the climax. But what makes Erikson unique is that it seems like you have these unrelated stories, which doesn't seem to tie together. It is only in the last couple books that you really understand what the whole aim of the series was from the beginning, and it wasn't any of the minor punchlines to the individual stories. Sanderson is tying together a lot of stories in different worlds, and I hope he has hidden the overarching plot line half as well as the Malazan books.