[knivesout]

I'd agree completely that it's not a 'wow' book. Fantasy books tend to justify their size with great dollops of action, suspense and magic, which is why they're so fat, by and large. Clarke is not at all writing in that vein and despite the size, and physical strenght needed to grapple with that size, this is more of a gentle, quietly pleasurable reading experience than a nail-biting race.