The Immortal Throne by Stella Gemmell.

All the wonders Ms Gemmell created in the first book of this series (The City) just became mayhem in the second (sequel). I tried to see the sense in the death of so many characters. I tried to see the reasons behind the style. I could not. I thought it a little crass but that could simply be me missing the "Big picture" as I am a little "thick" but sadly I thought this silly, worthless and not a patch on the first book.