There is a a lot of material here building the world that Cassandra (a seer who attracts and can communicate with ghosts) inhabits. It has Vampire mafia who raised her. The vampire Senates who govern the vampires, Weres, Wardsmiths, and others. Good character development and plot overall. Not much in the way of humor but some. A couple of rough places in the story but nothing bad.Overall and excellent read if you don't mind a complex book. The authors view of time accords well with current theroretical physics seeThe End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics, this is a theoretical physics book but requires only basic trig for comprehension; although the concepts are difficult.