Connie Willis has really managed to get into the heads of her characters in Blackout and All Clear. The problem with that is that her characters are anxious, depressed, or disoriented for huge swaths of the books. I think it's a testament to the author's skill that she can convey the feeling of dread and the sensation of being unable to focus because of panic. The balance between fear and relief in these books is heavily tilted towards fear, and I found myself spending most of my time wishing the books were over.