In the First law books, even torture loses its horror because its all done with a wink and a nod. Lots of characters die, but there's usually a joke alongside it so it never seems that important. Most of the characters are largely incompetent at whatever they're supposed to be doing and spend the books bumbling from scene to scene. Its not a bad thing its just different than what I expected. It wasn't some dark, epic tale as much as just a fun, kind of unique little story. The fate of the world supposedly hangs in the balance of course (as it always must) but most of the characters don't take it that seriously except Bayaz, so as a reader it was kind of hard to as well. IMO of course.
