And that's why I'm not rushing to judgement. Something is up? Something is fishy? Many people are acting out of character?
Yes. It's a story. And I have no idea how it ends, yet.
So far, it's got an amazing far-reaching epic kind of scale and scope to it, and I do not think for a second that Hickman 'hasn't thought about' any of these quibbles or doubts or apparent inconsistencies.
I do think that he just hasn't taken me aside and told me how it ends yet. I guess I'm going to have to wait, and, until that time, judge for myself whether the story itself is entertaining / engaging enough without knowing how it ends in advance to continue reading it. (Signs point to 'yes.')
This isn't a blanket situation, tho. I have, plenty of times, abandoned a story because how it wasn't interesting in the moment. If the ride's no fun, a great destination isn't worth six months of drek getting there. I can just read about the great ending later. But in this case, I'm enjoying the ride.