My enjoyment of the books is starting to fade. I have been rating the last few stories lower than the average on Goodreads and I'm not sure that will change much going forward. I will push on and read Bleak Seasons, which is the only other book beside Silver Spike to have a rating less than four stars, but I may be setting myself up for disappointment.

I don't want to abandon the series just here. I was committed to reading the Books of the North and continued with Books of the South as I chased the enjoyment of the first three. I'll start the Return of the Black Company instalment to see if the story, location or characters improve enough to convince me to carry on.

While reading Dreams of Steel I was having flashbacks to moments from Shadows Linger (story #2). Then I would get disheartened as I reminded myself that was from the same series. I may be burdened with Shadow____ characters, new alliances that formed in the South and all I want is the simpler story of the North.

I'm not sure why these last few books have fallen flat for me because I want to like them but they don't seem to hold my attention like they used to.