I just finished both and would love to talk about the ideas. eg:
- the vision of partial utopia
- the kinkiness of metaphysics
- all the stuff about gender
- forgiveness
- views on war and its inevitability
- some of the specific religious/metaphysic ideas
I found it extremely good, compelling, unique, visionary, and very weird. Sometimes hard to read, or frustrating, but that was clearly on purpose and I respect these choices and their uniqueness is I think incredibly well executed. I felt a lot of things reading it at different times, especially when (no spoiler) we learn a little more about the narrator's history. I'm confident the ideas will stick with me and inform and inspire and warn me for years to come, and I'm excited to read the rest of the series.