This may be my favorite of the not-quite-a-trilogy one offs in the First Law World.

The characters are interesting and inherently flawed. A select few have good intentions that fail to give them the skills necessary to live up to their heroic potential. More, have twisted goals and may appear heroic in their pursuit of those goals.

The main focus of the book is on a single multi-day battle. You get snapshots of both large and small scale tactics. You witness the chaos inherent in commanding an army across a wide battlefield. As is typical of Abercrombie, you're reminded death comes for everyone and rarely in the way we expect.