On a simplified look we have the following structure:

Book 1 is a about a war that leads into a rebellion in Book 2. All that paves the way for a revolution in Book 3.

For me, Book 1 is the weakest. Simply because this is the third and least exciting Northern War we see in the series. It has gotten tiresome. While the characters we meet are superb, the big flaw in this book is that things are being set up because things must be set up. Owl needed an ''in'' with the Lamb. There is little reason for them to bang and the whole ''romantic maze'' among the characters is forced. The sex scenes are objectively the weakest in the whole series. The romances in this trilogy felt like being written by an alien: ''Hey fellow humans youngsters, look at how well I understand modern sexual intercourses''. Abercrombie lost his innovative way of writing these from books 2-5 of the series! A weak 4.

Book 2 is the strongest. I loved the politicking and was on edge of my seat when the fighting went down, even though I knew how it is all going to end. Couldn't hold my excitement while waiting for WoC. The book in the series is second only to The Last Argument of Kings. A strong 5.

Book 3 stuck the landing for trilogy, but was underwhelming as an Abercrombie book for 3 main reasons: The fan favorite character is relegated to emotional torture porn and has literally no agency (seriously?). We knew how it's going to end thanks to the vision from Book 1, which eliminated any kind of suspense, and, lastly, the whole subject matter. Joe is known as a fantasy writer who predominantly reads nonfiction. He wrote a western set in his universe in Red Country. I dont like westerns. He wrote a French/Russian revolution tale set in his universe. I don't like revolutions. A weak 5.

How do you sort these 3?