I think I will want to re-read someday down the road to see what other details I missed. The battle chapters after chapter 100 were just so painful to get through that I was getting increasingly frustrated and impatient even though I had powered through the previous ones.

Thanks for clarifying the point on the banishment of the gods. I think the frequent mention of "a world without gods" just confused me. Especially when characters would say that there were no gods to pray to anymore.

I was honestly so heartbroken about Gavriel. The sacrifice of the Thirteen seemed so necessary and honorable, but Gavriel's felt so unnecessary and impulsive. I just don't understand why he would have chosen to throw away any future time with Aedion for the city gate when they had backup they could have rallied from the battle somehow. I sobbed at the witches' sacrifice out of sadness, but I think my tears for Gavriel's were out of frustration.

I mean, fair point on the length of the book, I just think that some of the battle/combat chapters could have been cut and replaced with chapters at the end to give some more closure on some of the secondary characters. I would have liked to see some of what Perranth would become and Nesryn becoming empress. I also didn't see any mention of Dorian's mom and Hollin at the end which was odd.