3/5 not for being inferior to or otherwise less fun than previous entries, but the last couple of books have lacked the overall subtlety and malevolent glee of the first three (and one half) books in the series. The Book of Lady is one of a humbled but growing power that has been taken way out of her depth and long-stripped of her resources. It throws aside the veils and trappings of disguise hung up by the former Taken, and it prances as the epic fantasy the initial trilogy spewed black vomit and blood upon with… shadows and suspicious winged creatures. There’s a magic carpet (a welcome possible-portent of events and battles to come?) and the admission of many fears and doubts as motivating aspects of evil and corruption. It’s cool that Cook can write cool stories that tell you the big baddies and righteous warriors are just as human as anyone, capable of failures and carrying flaws. But the shift (ha ha ha) away from these being the story of ordinary men clawing for life and a place in the world amidst the brutalities of the extraordinary (multidimensional gods and channeled hellspawn, nigh immortal wizards corrupt and intent on dominating the world, etc.) definitely leaves a reader of Dreams of Steel with something to be desired. To say nothing of whether or not the cliffhanger endings actually satisfy a complete narrative (because it’s arguable that they’re truly *cool* f**king endings!)
Whatever you may think of the series by now likely won’t change by time you finish reading this book. I myself am very much looking forward to continuing. I do expect a little bit more to happen in these books than DoL and its immediate predecessor gave us, though.