Books like The High King of Montival

The cover shows a close-cropped, grizzled man, wearing tattered camouflage, and holding a gleaming sword in a two hand fighting position. Behind him, there is the broken fuselage of a jet, with the Rockies looming in the distance. The landscape is otherwise desolate. This picture captures a bit of the soul of the Change world, and it's this world that I liked so much in the first three books.The man in the picture is Artos, High King of Montival, nee Rudi Mackenzie. Or at least it's supposed to be. But let's get to some problems with the picture. First off, there is no wrecked airplane in the book. Secondly, the picture of the wreckage doesn't ring true. The Change happened in a flash, instantaneously cutting off all electricity. If this plane had been flying at the time, it would be a much more severe wreck than what is shown. And if it was not flying at the time, what is it doing out in the foothills of the Rockies, all on its own? Of course, these are just quibbles.Let's move on to Rudi. The books are quite clear about his description. He's tall, has shoulder-length hair that is curly and fire red. Oh, and he wears a kilt when he's not wearing armor. Moreover, he would not just be carrying a sword. He would also have a quiver of arrows and a bow with him in all likelihood. And even if he didn't have that, then he would have a scabbard for his sword. And the scabbard would definitely appear in the picture. I don't necessarily mind the use of artistic license. (I will note that I find it puzzling that Stirling, who tries very hard to be accurate, or at least plausible, in his descriptions, would approve of a cover that veers so far from his own descriptions.) But I do find it emblematic of my major problem with the book: I like the world in the picture, which was the world of the first three books; I'm increasingly less fond of Artos, his kilt, and the fantasy world that has somehow grown out of the Change.In this book, Rudi and his gang travel back from their quest, from Nantucket to his home in Montival (formerly Oregon and surrounding territory). In keeping with the pace that he has set for the series, Stirling has determined to fill us in on every step of the journey. It's a long walk. Along the way, there are some reunions, some skirmishes, two battles. And it all feels a bit old. The Cutters again are faceless, mindless villains who attack and attack, chanting "Cut! Cut! CUT!", and, by comparison, they make the orcs in the Lord of the Rings feel like full-blown characters. There's also a fair amount of alliance making, and that was a bit more interesting, but only a bit. Ironically, the feeling I had for this book was best expressed by Rudy himself:"I'm tired of this... It's been years now; fighting and running, now them running and still more fighting. I'm tired of seeing brave men die; tired of killing them. ... I want it to stop." Unfortunately, that about sums it up for me as well.