I think that "less shades of grey" is just to be expected in the first installment of a series, and particularly when the author was so young. I think all of us are "less shades of grey" when we're young and get a lot more nuanced as we experience more of life. If you compare Storm Front as a first novel to The Aeronaut's Windlass (first book of Jim's Cinder Spires series), there's a huge difference in complexity and level of nuance. Jim has clearly matured enormously over the years (no surprise).
@Elfich47 - Did you finish your Storm Front read? What was the verdict?
I think that "less shades of grey" is just to be expected in the first installment of a series, and particularly when the author was so young. I think all of us are "less shades of grey" when we're young and get a lot more nuanced as we experience more of life. If you compare Storm Front as a first novel to The Aeronaut's Windlass (first book of Jim's Cinder Spires series), there's a huge difference in complexity and level of nuance. Jim has clearly matured enormously over the years (no surprise).