We read this (the first two trades) as a Read Pile review for our podcast (and I think that's the episode we're publishing in an hour or so today), and I really didn't care for it. It just felt like Hickman spat out a TON of mediocre, unengaging characters in the first 30-40 pages or so with little-to-no build, and there was nothing about the series that hooked me or made me want to care. It was overwhelming and tedious.