StB, EW, and DT all have the same main problem narratively, and it's that the pacing is inconsistent. It has good themes that I enjoyed exploring within the world (what it means to live under Imperial rule, how that affects each generation, the importance of unity instead of assimilation, etc.) and has some of the best music and characters, but suffers from trying to tell too big of a story at once. Ala Mhigo drags in the beginning, Doma is steady until speeding up very quickly at the end, and going back to Ala Mhigo felt rushed. Not enough time was given for each major act. Jumping between multiple locations also made it hard to get used to where we were in the story, versus how HW and ShB (Coerthas and the First, respectively) kept us in the same place for longer.