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The book become more complex and interesting in the final stretch, although it didn't quite get over the hump to earn four stars.

My early complaint, that the central characters had what amount to superpowers — the smartest person you know would eventually apply to three of 'em, and the toughest person on the planet to another. It's one thing to instantly appeal to reader identification because of a juvenile wish-fulfillment of being the misunderstood or maligned Chosen One, versus organically building an attachment for a character (even an unlikable one) through understanding or even exposure to their actions under difficult circumstances. Instead, towards the end, we've got a gut-punch of unfaithfulness and betrayal that would only make sense if the characters involved were adolescents, not seasoned veterans of how miscommunications can bring death. Where was the, "Wait, am I making any assumptions here?" moment? Not there, because the author is jerking the readers around by the emotions.

The whole character-with-superhero aspect never went away, but the world-building became engrossing enough to compensate.