The Shadow Rising

Book 4 is something like book 3. There are hints of what's to come (referring to the tedium warning I mentioned in book 1 review). The plot and storyline advance at different paces in the book. The number of characters that are now present as well as the number of plot lines that are going on at the same time is starting to become difficult to juggle, for both the reader and, seemingly, the author. There have been hints of that in book 3 and it's more obvious here - resolutions to critical problems just so happens to present itself conveniently. It's like a cheap surprise plot twist. Once in a while is ok, but it's starting to become rather often - felt like the author suddenly had to tie certain things together and didn't plan far ahead enough. Anyway, aside from the sometimes slow pacing and the jumping around the plot lines, there has been great character development for the main male characters - interesting stuff that makes for a good read; it just needs to be read with a little patience.