starting to get drawn out, but really good

The story is interesting, but Brett spends way too much time describing each persons skill and use of sharusak. I enjoyed the first three novels significantly more. This story probably could have been cut in half if he simplified all the combat dialogue.

Too much politics not enough demons.

What a pity. I guess the author/publisher wanted to pump some more installments into the story so here we have an intermission book. Anything significant happens in the very last pages. The main characters don't grow, and neither do the new ones. There is a stab at King's Landing-style intrigue, which unfortunately falls flat. The world is still exciting and I guess the author did listen to the complaints about all the embarrassingly gratuitous sex in the previous book, so that we're at least saved from that. But the biggest flaw is the boring battle scenes. I'm probably not exaggerating that a good fourth of the book is wasted on fighting. Sign of the lack of substance? I'll still follow the series to the end--too late to turn back now--but this was a disappointment.

The second half of the book is so full of action, but the first part was somewhat slow for me.
I get it that all the series has been a mix of voices, as in a choir, but at times it almost felt as if there were too many details that made me loose sight of the overall picture...
Though the ending left me a lot of curiosity about how everything is going to end in the next book, I also felt that perhaps it was a bit too dragged on

Ever since picking up a copy of Brett’s “The Warded Man” back in 2010, I have loved this series. “The Skull Throne” does not disappoint. I would be lying if I did not say there have been ups and downs with this series. Some of the books are better than others. Brett brought a dose of fresh air to fantasy with “The Warded Man.” In my opinion, the original book is the best in the series. Not because it is written better, because it set-up an intriguing post-apocalyptic story the likes of which I had never read. The characters are well thought out. The magical system Brett introduces his readers is unique to anything I have read.

If you have not read any of the previous novels, then you are about to encounter spoilers. “The Skull Throne” picks up after Arlen and Jardir’s jaw dropping deaths as their battle took them over a cliff in “The Daylight War.” The two-sides are searching for these two “Deliverers.” We find out early in the book what really happened, and if these two former friends but now bitter rivals can work together to save humanity.

While I hate to use the term “soap opera,” this series definitely takes on the tones of a soap. There are ups and downs in this story. We lose some fan favorite characters. One notable character that we have been with for most of the series, but thanks to the “hora” magic, we had foreshadowing of his death. Betrayal and intrigue follow the characters in “The Skull Throne.” With the death of Jardir, much of the intrigue revolves around who will sit the Skull Throne. We cannot forget the importance of Leesha and the secret surrounding who is the father of her child. Then there is Rojer and his growing harem. Can Abban and Inevera work together without Jardir?

This was a worthy sequel, and was definitely a book I found hard to put down.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

I think my mistake was binge-reading this series. These books all blend together. This universe is feeling smaller and smaller as we just keep going in circles around and around with the same characters and slightly different dramas between them.

This installment features minimal action with Arlen, Jardir et al. We are mostly just back at home dealing with petty squabbling between the different city-states and Jardir's sons. Leesha is not being her smart, compelling self but is wandering around being weak and pregnant and I'm not into it.

I'll probably read book 5 but right now I feel like I made a mistake in reading these so close together, so I'm going to wait a while.

The series has lost some of its magic for me here. Particularly, there is too much focus on the Krasian society, which is fairly monotonous.

This took me a very long time to finish. I really didn't enjoy this book all that much and wanted it tied up with a neat now; did not happen.
You have your somewhat conclusion but there were elements missing and I just couldn't get into it. More to come, later.
Three stars for dedication and strong writing.

The book is good. Characters well written and great. I'm just blah about it though. Waiting so long for it to come out and then it just be ho-hum is a bit disappointing. I'll read #5 whenever it comes out, I truly like the series but I'm not going to wait anxiously for it like I did this one. It'll happen eventually and I'll read it, eventually. Sorry Brett, you missed something with this one, for me anyway. Cheers.