The Aeronaut's Windlass

I finished reading The Aeronaut's Windlass (the new Jim Butcher) last night. As some of you know, I was having trouble getting into it, but I ended up enjoying it once the plot started to happen. It's a fun, light, escapist read that clears the Bechdel test with flying colors; there are a variety of different characters for every taste, including a female pirate captain who is EXCELLENT (/unbiased), and the antagonists -- aside from the one who is clearly EVIL with a capital "E" -- are mostly sympathetic and likable people. It is very much the first book in a series, setting up a lot of dominos which will clearly be important in future installments; very little is explained, but a lot of intriguing hints are dropped re: the worldbuilding and the characters' respective backstories. My only real problem with the book is that there's a character I found so annoying I had to skim his POV sections, but mileage probably varies on that.

( The spoiler part - nothing really specific, but comments on various characters and speculation on the worldbuilding )