Been quite a while since I read this one and am now going through the series given it's all finished. I remember reading this for the first time when was 14, I was floored by it, the sheer scope was incredible. Completing the series was like setting aside a good friend that had been around for 20 years. Starting at the beginning again, despite this being the fourth or so time having read this first one, I can look forward to all that happens. There is a bittersweet quality to the naivety of the characters, sighs at the hopes and dreams that never come to be, and nerdy fun at all the little prophetic images that I can now understand what they're connected to. The magnitude of the story remains even knowing what is to come and reconnecting with characters that truly grow and evolve realistically is a profound joy to be found in fiction.