At this point I'm not sure what the series is about -- Morlock is completely reactive, in the long view, and his involvement with his parents comes off as two cases of "Eh, dealing with that sure did suck." I think the first book benefited from bouncing him off his sister, but she doesn't appear in this volume. His involvement with the rest of the human race (and etc) is the point, I guess, which makes these a curiously mainstream set of epic fantasy. But the third book may be yet another change in form, so I shouldn't draw conclusions yet.
Footnote: the sun rising in the west is a definitional mistake, not a geographical alteration.