[slight spoilers possible for books 1-3] 
 The penultimate instalment in Brett's demon cycle quintology (the V in Peter V Brett is in fact the Roman numeral for 5, it was always going to be a quintology). 
 Another great read that I consumed in chunks over the course of 6 weeks. 
 At first I was confused by the sheer number of names of ranks and people that I'd forgotten since the last book. But at the Grim Gathering Peter pointed out to me that I was an idiot (with great diplomacy) - there's a family tree and glossary of terms at the end. 
 It's a big fat book, packed with violence, massive fight scenes, and some sex. Alongside this we get the unfolding of quite complex events featuring all our favourite characters, with court intrigue on both sides of the Krassian / Hollower divide. There are lots of very human stories spinning out along with the super-powered battles, and Brett does a great job with both. 
 The 'headline' story of the Painted Man plays out slowly and sparsely compared to that of the remaining cast, so don't expect enormous progress there. In some ways that part of the story is waiting for the rest to catch up - Arlen is almost demi-god-like and there's really no place for him in the main tale other than bringing everything to a conclusion (I presume) in a boss-fight to end all boss-fights in the final book. 
 Without spoiling I will say that the last 20% of the book is a bit like a ten chapter Red Wedding - Brett mercilessly winnows his very sizeable cast with loved and not so loved characters falling in droves. 
 We also get to meet the lad who sparked Brett's 'Mud Boy' short story in the Unfettered anthology. Although he popped out of nowhere late on he does seem remarkably talented and surely has an important role in the final book. 
 There is perhaps a danger with so many characters all bristling with super-powers, be they off-the-scale ninja skills or many-flavoured magic, that we lose contact with the cast, but Brett does ground us with all manner of courtly politicking, including a ball designed to supply Gared (reformed bullying giant axeman) with a bride, and the ongoing feuding of jonglers Roger and Sweetsong. 
 All in all, if you loved The Daylight War you'll love this! 
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