This was a chore to get through, the first half especially, though the ending got more exciting. The entire first 20% was a long battle-- just not enjoyable to read. The plot is brutal and, fittingly, dark, but leaves some hope for revenge in book 6.

I find myself frustrated with the lack of nuance in the antagonists. There were four different evil factions in this book and they are all SO evil it's almost sick to read. Makes it easier to root for the POV characters but I was hoping this back half trilogy might have more political shades of gray instead of just more violent wars.