Cheers Corwin, as usual a solid review, good to read.
A few more questions and comments though for further clarification!
(I haven't bought it yet, too busy with other games - at the moment it's Avadon 2)
1. Some more general comparisons to the second game would be interesting to hear about…for example, I largely preferred the dungeon crawling from the first game to the dungeons from the second, which save for the Dwarven mines and maybe a section under the Ironpool dam, weren't quite as much fun to explore (at least for me…)
2. Has the emptiness to content ratio improved from Book 2? One criticism I had of the second game is that there are too many maps with relatively empty space and open areas lacking any really unique features or interesting encounters. This results in a feeling of much filler combat. The journey to the final fortress on the island was especially irritating in this way.
3. Are there any interesting choices to be made from a role-playing perspective? Book 2 had a couple of neat quests which had some of these. The Werewolf quest certainly comes to mind.
I don't see these games as especially hardcore to be honest - in fact, I play them rather casually for a couple of hours at a time on weekends, which is probably why it takes me longer as a whole to complete them. If you build a character intelligently without serious risk by spreading too thinly, one should be able to find adequate resources to finish without too much fuss or grinding.
I have to concur regarding the balancing issue as well: I found my melee specialist from the second game to be a much more challenging character to build and play than my original mage from the first game. Interesting to read that issues of balancing still exist in Book 3.