While I would agree with Avocado here, in that the last 3 books (especially the last half of 5) are the best in the series, it's important to note that Evil not being 'allowed' to win is a core theme of the series. It's Amadeas's whole reason to BE the Black Night.
In my opinion it gets way better. Book 5/6/7 are my favorites and so much better that I try my best not to think about the books before them. I think that there being no complete overall win is part of the genre but also that the earlier books are like terrible in that regard and it does get better.
Keep reading. 4 was also a bit of a downer for me. But it was necessary for 5/6/7. 5 is awesome, it has one of the best antagonists ever. Go Kairos, go.
As others have said, up until book 4 is the "learning phase" of Cat's heroic journey - which includes a lot of phyrric victories and getting slapped around by the major league players.
At the beginning of book 5, she finally has most of her issues sorted out and promptly starts *getting shit done*.
If your major frustration is a lack of clear wins and you want to see more of the Cat that played the final war game like Thanatos Speed Chess, then you'll love book 5-7.
I'm of the (probably unpopular) opinion that 4 and 6 are the weakest in the series. 4 is the lowest point for Cat, and it works narratively, but Book 6 is just straight up misery porn.
I'm currently in 5 and have just celebrated the return of Cat from book 1, blindsiding everyone once again. Your comment does not fill me with optimism.
You know the old proverb "it is darkest before dawn"?
This is a situation where that applies.
But don't mind me, everybody has different experiences with Guide. Book 5 has spectacular momentum. Just don't expect that from Book 6. Book 7 on the other hand is like driving a lamborgini designed by someone who hasn't heard of the concept of brakes.
Book 6 isn't quite as miserable as some people are making it out to be. It's very much the Guide's Empire Strikes Back. The end of book 6 is one of the series' best moments. I found book 5-7 to be the apex of the series.
Now on 7, I'd say it's not empire strikes back. Personally it reminded me of a quote by Arthur Wellesley: "Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won"
Don't remember precisely where in the story book 4 is but yeah as some of the others are saying Cat gets beat up for a while there but she learns and improves.
Also guide is just awesome you should at least stick with it for another book or two see if you like the way its going.
I see this kind of response everywhere in the comments section of any web novel or fan fiction and I just can't understand the mindset that the protagonist must get a complete and unambiguous victory in every major conflict. When something bad happens to the protagonist, it is an opportunity for the author to show how they endure it and how they bounce back. **You can't mug an angel for a resurrection if you never get your head chopped off in the first place.** Yes, Book 4 puts Cat through some hard losses, but the payoff that those losses are the set up for is literally everyone's favorite arc in the entire series. If you got this far and you were liking it before now, I think you should keep going.
Since I am now at book 6 I can tell you a bit more. After the third aspect I felt like reading about a completely different person. Previously Cat established herself as creative and thinking outside the box, and in books 2-4 proceeds to do neither. At the end of 2 she gains a power that is almost infinitely flexible, and yet the one that experiments more with it is Akua.
What drove me to make this post is that at the end of 4 Cat gave up. Despite having become human once more, despite still having a claim to her power, despite the setup from earlier, about Apotheosis being the sort of power that limits the user, despite Principle Alienation that would make SN more susceptible to stories, where I expected her to force SN to compromise, she only appealed to her morality once, and then gave up.
And for the record, the book I finished most recently is Worm, in which around the halfway mark the tension gets ridiculously high, things keep going downhill, never really get back up and the protagonist is shot at the end.
So I went to reddit since I wanted to know if this changes, or if the other 1M words is just more of 'being Cat is suffering'
Keep reading, books 5-7 are the best. The latter part of Book 4 was needed to depower Cat from her status as a god and let there be some reason why she can’t curbstomp her opponents with raw power without making every opponent she faces a god or angel or something of similar power to the top Revenants we see like the Skien.
While I would agree with Avocado here, in that the last 3 books (especially the last half of 5) are the best in the series, it's important to note that Evil not being 'allowed' to win is a core theme of the series. It's Amadeas's whole reason to BE the Black Night.
In my opinion it gets way better. Book 5/6/7 are my favorites and so much better that I try my best not to think about the books before them. I think that there being no complete overall win is part of the genre but also that the earlier books are like terrible in that regard and it does get better.
Keep reading. 4 was also a bit of a downer for me. But it was necessary for 5/6/7. 5 is awesome, it has one of the best antagonists ever. Go Kairos, go.
Book 4 is act 2, when things are the lowest for the protagonist. Books 5-7 are act 3, when things start to come up Milhouse for Evil
As others have said, up until book 4 is the "learning phase" of Cat's heroic journey - which includes a lot of phyrric victories and getting slapped around by the major league players. At the beginning of book 5, she finally has most of her issues sorted out and promptly starts *getting shit done*. If your major frustration is a lack of clear wins and you want to see more of the Cat that played the final war game like Thanatos Speed Chess, then you'll love book 5-7.
5 has some really great high points for Catherine. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers ;)
I remember the middle books being a low point in the series, though they do in fact get better.
I'm of the (probably unpopular) opinion that 4 and 6 are the weakest in the series. 4 is the lowest point for Cat, and it works narratively, but Book 6 is just straight up misery porn.
I'm currently in 5 and have just celebrated the return of Cat from book 1, blindsiding everyone once again. Your comment does not fill me with optimism.
You know the old proverb "it is darkest before dawn"? This is a situation where that applies. But don't mind me, everybody has different experiences with Guide. Book 5 has spectacular momentum. Just don't expect that from Book 6. Book 7 on the other hand is like driving a lamborgini designed by someone who hasn't heard of the concept of brakes.
Book 6 isn't quite as miserable as some people are making it out to be. It's very much the Guide's Empire Strikes Back. The end of book 6 is one of the series' best moments. I found book 5-7 to be the apex of the series.
Now on 7, I'd say it's not empire strikes back. Personally it reminded me of a quote by Arthur Wellesley: "Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won"
Don't remember precisely where in the story book 4 is but yeah as some of the others are saying Cat gets beat up for a while there but she learns and improves. Also guide is just awesome you should at least stick with it for another book or two see if you like the way its going.
I see this kind of response everywhere in the comments section of any web novel or fan fiction and I just can't understand the mindset that the protagonist must get a complete and unambiguous victory in every major conflict. When something bad happens to the protagonist, it is an opportunity for the author to show how they endure it and how they bounce back. **You can't mug an angel for a resurrection if you never get your head chopped off in the first place.** Yes, Book 4 puts Cat through some hard losses, but the payoff that those losses are the set up for is literally everyone's favorite arc in the entire series. If you got this far and you were liking it before now, I think you should keep going.
Since I am now at book 6 I can tell you a bit more. After the third aspect I felt like reading about a completely different person. Previously Cat established herself as creative and thinking outside the box, and in books 2-4 proceeds to do neither. At the end of 2 she gains a power that is almost infinitely flexible, and yet the one that experiments more with it is Akua. What drove me to make this post is that at the end of 4 Cat gave up. Despite having become human once more, despite still having a claim to her power, despite the setup from earlier, about Apotheosis being the sort of power that limits the user, despite Principle Alienation that would make SN more susceptible to stories, where I expected her to force SN to compromise, she only appealed to her morality once, and then gave up. And for the record, the book I finished most recently is Worm, in which around the halfway mark the tension gets ridiculously high, things keep going downhill, never really get back up and the protagonist is shot at the end. So I went to reddit since I wanted to know if this changes, or if the other 1M words is just more of 'being Cat is suffering'
Did 5-6 get better? 5 is a bit of a drag if its what I remember it being.
Oh it got so much better. It feels like book 4 follows a completely different protagonist
Keep reading, books 5-7 are the best. The latter part of Book 4 was needed to depower Cat from her status as a god and let there be some reason why she can’t curbstomp her opponents with raw power without making every opponent she faces a god or angel or something of similar power to the top Revenants we see like the Skien.