This is disappointing, especially since Wisteria and Ayuvah die in order for Tull to have the realization about the right time to catch serpents. This is far from the spiritual experience I expected after Tull's spirit walk experience in the middle of the book. Tull does go through a huge change. When he returns to Smilodon Bay with the serpents, he no longer fears his father and marries Fava, Ayuvah's sister, who has been devoted to Tull for years. This love of devotion is contrasted to Wisteria's love, a search for recreation, and Tirilee's love, the love of a Dryad that is driven only by instinct and quickly dies.
Love is only one of the many themes.
Tull also realizes that it is more important to be a contributing member of a society than an individual acting for merely personal needs. Wolverton puts all of this together in a socially relevant way that makes one reflect on one's own values. Wolverton uses a unlimited-omniscient narration and has some problems with transitions between points of view. Occasionally he changes point of view mid-paragraph without any indication that the view changed until the end of the paragraph. These problems dissipate as the story progresses and are completely gone by the end of the book.