I don't like leaving trilogies un-read, and I often get in a trap of "First books are often weak because they are a lot of setup, let's see if book 2 is a bit better." Then, after book 2, the Sunk Cost Fallacy kicks in, and I think, "Well, I came this far. Might as well see how it ends."

There were more surprises in this book, such as when the young prince, freshly rescued, kills himself. While it certainly had shock value and reiterated a Song of Ice and Fire-esque "Anyone can die" atmosphere, it felt like it was only done for shock value. It didn't change the plot much. In fact, it kind of cheapened the end of the previous book to have it happen so soon. Had it happened closer to the end, it would have worked. As an event in chapter 2, not so much.

The world is never fleshed out. Countries, peoples, they just randomly seem to appear out of nowhere to make plot happen. Its impossible to know where anything is, how far away they are, how they relate to each other. Its disjointed, the worldbuilding equivalent of Calvinball.

I know this sounds silly, being that this is a series with were-dragons and demons and whatnot, but the rocs irritate me to no end. They are constantly described as greasy and smelly, to the point that they are dripping goo constantly. That fucks up feathers. Don't you see the news after an oil spill?Those birds couldn't fly. ( )