Fantasy Rpg Books: Pitting Roark's New Regime Against Azibek's Horde of Loyalists

The book really picks up from the start, and expands on book 1 but also takes it into new directions. The cast of characters doesn't really change, even with new floors (no spoilers here) but we do get to know them better. There is a break in the action between the first half of the book and the last third, and it felt like a slog to get through it. Once you're past it though, the story really speeds up and is a rollicking ride through to the end. One small downside is the Azabek...
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The book really picks up from the start, and expands on book 1 but also takes it into new directions. The cast of characters doesn't really change, even with new floors (no spoilers here) but we do get to know them better. There is a break in the action between the first half of the book and the last third, and it felt like a slog to get through it. Once you're past it though, the story really speeds up and is a rollicking ride through to the end. One small downside is the Azabek the Cruel never felt like a solid antagonist. He's there as a placeholder, He takes a few actions, but acts more as the boogeyman at the bottom of the dungeon. He isn't a character you get to know about, how he thinks, or really anything else about him.