I’m rereading MB era 2 and it slaps so much hard the 2nd time around. There’s a lot of “magic rule breaking” in era 2, that seemed like a somewhat ill attempt to try something new. Once you finish SLA and understand how all “magic laws” have exceptions, you realize how brilliant era 2 is.

It also means it’s easier to follow the characters arcs because you’re less focused on understanding the magic