The pacing change from the first three books is noticeable but I felt it was welcome. The first three are almost contained quest novels, where they chase a goal and more or less complete it by books end, the scope changes a bit in book four onwards to a larger view of how you pull this disbanded world together to face the final fight. It really doesn't return to the early books pacing, but once you adjust, I felt at least that the novels now intriguing for the change.