I had a similar reaction to the Broken Earth series.
The "elves" issue was part of it (though, I think, in most of the important stuff about the universe was actually set up/foreshadowed in book 1).
Partly it was the fact that it was trying to blend Science and Magic in a way that left me unable to tell which was which and wishing we were further towards the Science side of the spectrum.
And, weirdly, part of my issue was that the first book was very mysterious and hard to figure out what was going on, even the parts that the characters actually understood (but didn't stand around as-you-know-Bob-ing about) -- which somehow came across as more compelling than frustrating to me. So then, as stuff got more explained and less mysterious, I missed the mood generated by my own lack of understanding of what was going on.
no subject
The "elves" issue was part of it (though, I think, in most of the important stuff about the universe was actually set up/foreshadowed in book 1).
Partly it was the fact that it was trying to blend Science and Magic in a way that left me unable to tell which was which and wishing we were further towards the Science side of the spectrum.
And, weirdly, part of my issue was that the first book was very mysterious and hard to figure out what was going on, even the parts that the characters actually understood (but didn't stand around as-you-know-Bob-ing about) -- which somehow came across as more compelling than frustrating to me. So then, as stuff got more explained and less mysterious, I missed the mood generated by my own lack of understanding of what was going on.