Your reacting to the Aaronovitch are much the same as mine. I am looking forward to the third one, but not as eagerly as I was looking forward to the second!

I am currently reading Cetaganda as well. Slowly, because I don't want to rush it because it's so good. But that is sort of killing me, and I know I'm just going to end up reading it all in a rush and staying up way too late to do it.