Maybe the most difficult book of the series so far, in terms of pace and themes, yet Erikson manages to deliver again; main plots proceed or conclude here, usually in ways that trully challenge the common narrative conventions, not only of the genre itself, but of literature in general; main themes, such as corruption, greed, compassion, empathy, absurdity of life and death, love, economic collapse of capitalism-like systems, revolution and many more, are pursuited further; main characters develop even more, getting more realistic all the time; but mostly, Erikson proves that he has created a literature universe with the precision of a puzzle-maker, since even small plot events and seemingly tiny details that appeared thousand pages before find their place in this huge canvas.
This series remains, after seven books, one of the most profound fiction works I've ever read. I'm more than eager to read -after a short interval, as always- the last three books of the decalogy.