And yeah, the chain of dogs storyline is definitely powerful and I always loved it. It's not the skipping that bothers me, or the impossibility of some of Coltaine's accomplishments. It's the very poor way Erikson introduced some of the time skips, without ever making it feel like months had passed. Still, I just know the ending will hit me like a ton of bricks despite all my current complaining.
But seriously, enjoy the guy with the wooden sword, he's a badass, and if you don't love him for the ending of book 4, I don't even know what to say to you.