I have edited this post a lot as I have finished the book. I hope it still makes sense at this point in time!
So far I am enjoying TJE, though it is clear it is a set up book for the next two in the series. Since I am so tired from a medical condition right now, I will probably have to reread it soon to make sure I pick on stuff I know I am missing in whole or part once I do finish it (I am about halfway done right now). note: Actually, I have finished the book.
Bakker is an amazingly good writer. Near the beginning there is what seems to be a fairly ordinary scene of a little boy watching a beetle scuttling around in a temple. Little boys like to watch animals so the scene is well and good and realistic and even a bit mundane; but then he transforms the scene in a way that you suddenly realize that is no normal little boy (to say the least), and your entire understanding of this character hugely changes.
I have a lot to say about what is implied about Esmi as well, but I want to think about it a bit more. I might even have to go back and read her scenes in the first trilogy.
edited to add:
here are some of my thoughts on Esmi and TJE - major spoilers, so I am blacking them out:
