I think this tableaux of characters feels realistic in this setting-from the people taking advantage of disaster for their own monetary gain, reporters on the streets trying to get a scoop, people fleeing the country altogether, people roaming around, to the normal people just doing their regular everyday things. I really like the evolution of Whatitsname-firstly looking to seek revenge for dying so young, and the subsequent revenge missions as he replenishes his body with random parts. He reminded me of No Face from Spirited Away in the way that as he consumed more and more people from the bathhouse, he became increasingly corrupted. And then there's also the Tracking and Pursuit Department trying to divine methods of control. They'd almost be a comical part of the story except for the very real car bombing near the end of the novel. Surprisingly there are a fair amount of pretty happy endings considering the random acts of violence, in particular Elishva, but I think we see that she realizes the truth about Daniel. A blend of the realistic and not so much reality of living under such violent forces.