I suppose I should have been more specific. The other races being compared aren’t dragons, centaurs, and dwarfs. Its the various humans of Astlan.
And little points. Did Vaselle come out of left field? Yes, but their was an effort to push him into the story. He had a use, he provided a potential trail, he offered some forshadowing. Purpose. As for everything else, I think you wanted things to be wrapped up in the one book? In book one things layered nicely. Book two was more chaotic yes, but I feel like its supposed to be. In book three I certainly expect more answers. The Djinn threw me out of left field to, but I’ve been keeping up with the forums so I found some manner of point. I suppose I can only say don’t take the books to seriously. From the get go, they’ve had a sillier element to it. Maybe after book three (Should you choose to read it) your opinion might change, or perhaps mine will!
One never knows!