[invisiblefunnel]

The characters aren't really meant to be believable. http://books.google.com/books?id=TYZaNwrIM8YC&pg=PT664&#...

[cantankerous]

I guess "believable" is the wrong word. They were one-dimensional and boring. The book is a terrible description of a way of life masked as a story, and in my opinion, that's all it is.