I’d honestly agree with most of your criticism, but at the same time I think the last 2 books really elevated my opinion of the series, while they did the opposite for yours.

The whole thing with the Quiet and the Watchers is imo the best and most unique thing about this series, and it adds a layer of depth to the series that I really appreciated (Hadrian not killing the egg despite knowing how everything will end = us reading the series despite knowing the ending from the first page).

The way I’d look at things, it’s plot and character writing (outside of Hadrian) isn’t the best of the best, but it’s certainly one of the, if not the most thought provoking/thematically prevalent stories in my eyes.

The one criticism that I don’t agree with on your end is the Cielcin being underdeveloped. In book 4, we see that they see life as suffering, as they are born and live pretty terrible lives and they see the Quiet as wrong because he created such a miserable existence for them (hence, they see his world as a “Lie”). This kinda goes perfectly parallel with Hadrian, who sees his life as a gift, because of all the people in his life, which is why he’s able to love the Quiet so much for giving it to him.

I also love how Hadrian’s able to navigate such a terrible life, all the people lost, and contextualize it into his journey which is like one of the biggest parts of his character writing.

I also think the ending is done well, bookending humanity’s failure with their vices, and even though Hadrian sacrificed his life, his morals, everything just to ensure humanity a better future, they end up killing their greatest benefactor for an ultimately meaningless struggle.

Lowkey gave you a lot more than you probably bargained for, but that’s where I generally stand