glad to be of service. Having accepted and produced the ending of The Lion Hunter, I feel as though I shouldn't go around apologizing for it. But as a reader I do know how frustrating it feels.

And I think I've said before how much it means to me that you like the book, despite the ending, because you came to it without having read any of the others. It is such a huge relief to me to know that it can be read out of context, even if it doesn't exactly "stand alone."