Thank you for the kind words, my friend. I've been a fant fan for many years, which does not necessairly make me an authority, but I've always been a discriminating reader who can seperate the good from the bad (and the ugly)
I think anyone who's a devotee of the genre sees the formula, but after all, that's why we read the stuff - because we like to get lost in those kind of worlds.
I was a dedicated sci-fi reader for years and another thing I like about Ray's work is his ability to insert a bit of that into his books. His use of the Hall of the Worlds, the idea of travel between different dimensions, etc, are a mingling of sci-fi with fantasy.
Have U also noticed that members of the Tsuranni Assembly push a button on a hand-held 'device' to move from one place to another? This sounds more like a miniature 'transporter' than anything strictly magickal. 'Scotty' would love it and 'Bones' would probably be scared to death of it. lol