"Done better by Joe Abercrombie" - guess that's a matter of opinion. I thought Abercrombie's book a bit too Monty Python. Like The Steel Remains far better, as I felt more emotions from Richard's characters. But have to admit I read each character's story (I skipped every other chapter)first, then went back and read the entire thing as written. My mind works better that way. Plus I NEVER pay attention to things like "fantasy that subverts standard tropes" - that puts too much expectations on what a book might really be.

For fans of Richards Takeshi Kovacs books, someone has pointed out that the sky dweller Takavac might be an in-house take on Takeshi Kovacs. Read the paragraph where he says he's changed flesh and traveled in a spirit form to a dozen worlds really makes sense. If that's that case, very clever!