“He should’ve known better. Vengeance is never halfway as simple, or halfway as sweet, as you think it’s going to be.”
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This was an underwhelming and disappointing conclusion to a series that was also underwhelming and disappointing. After so much was made of the Gurkish, the Hundred Words, and how ruthless the Emperor was the collision between them in our protagonists was anticlimactic. That was an opportunity for some epic battles and suspense, and it was just so muddled and messy that it felt flat. 

Many of the character twists and reveals weren’t plausible as no plot had been laid to support that, or any true lead in. It felt rushed, especially the shift to evil mastermind from one of our main characters. 

I started skimming settings, conversations, and nearly all of Glokta’s inner dialogue just to get through the text. The physical intimacy was again gross and didn’t fit with the trilogy. 

I was so unsatisfied with how we ended basically where we began, and many of the characters were effectively unchanged by their experiences at base which is sort of impossible. I guess I just expected so much more from this because so many people were excited and seemed to love it a lot. 

This is one of those times I can accept it’s not for me and just move on.