Well I needn't have worried about starting the first book of a trilogy that wasn't complete as I don't think I'll be in a rush to finish this one. You know the saying 'damning with faint praise'? This book was OK.
Can't really put my finger on what was lacking but lacking it was. Depth, maybe? Context? That je ne sais quoi that makes you want to invest your time/money in 2 more books?
Also I picked up a lot of influences ... cont in comments 👇