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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
First Abercrombie book but I gotta say was enjoyable from the beginning to the end it felt like playing Baldurs Gate but in a book format, amazing party of character all with own way of looking at the world.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
what a fun and violent journey with some unexpected and dangerous but somehow loveable characters (or should I say devils), my favorites were definitely Jakob, Alex, Sunny and Baron Rikard (in the eastern part of Poland they serve a certain kind of dumpling...)
this book is most definitely very funny and full of action (with a slight hint of romance), the last 100 pages or so managed to also be surprising and kinda touching
this book is most definitely very funny and full of action (with a slight hint of romance), the last 100 pages or so managed to also be surprising and kinda touching
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Joe Abercrombie having some goofy fun with goofy characters.
A vampire, a werewolf, a magician/necromancer, a warrior, an elf, and a female bad-ass embark on a journey to protect a former young female thief who is destined to become an empress. Sound corny? Why the two stars.
A vampire, a werewolf, a magician/necromancer, a warrior, an elf, and a female bad-ass embark on a journey to protect a former young female thief who is destined to become an empress. Sound corny? Why the two stars.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
4.75 ⭐️
✅ Multi-POV done so well, with such a loveable cast of anti-hero characters
✅ Some of the best written fight/action scenes I’ve ever read
✅ Amazing balance of character-driven story but with a great plot that moves at a good pace
✅ I personally enjoyed the balance of lightheartedness in amongst the high stakes and gore
❌ Didn’t quite get 5 stars because I personally never got to the ‘unputdownable’ reading stage
❌ This book requires quite a lot of attention and time to fully get into (but in my opinion it does reward you for it!)
As I said above, this book asks a lot of you in terms of attention and time, but really rewards you for it. I haven’t stopped thinking about the characters in this book since I finished it! They are so perfectly morally grey yet completely loveable in their own unique ways. Their individual development and how different character relationships form throughout the story is endearing, heartwarming and satisfying (sometimes in a bittersweet way).
This book is multi-POV and often has changing perspectives even within a chapter. This requires quite a bit of concentration when reading, but it also keeps the story feeling very dynamic and fast moving. There wasn’t a single bad perspective in this book, and I loved how the writing very clearly shifted to match the character. Some characters are selfish, some are doubtful, some are exhausted, and some are chaotic, and all of it is reflected so well in the writing.
One of my favourite things about this book was the action scenes. I’m not usually a big fan of long, drawn-out fight scenes in a book, and can find they get a bit ‘samey’ after a while. But the way they were written in this book was so refreshing - having the multiple POVs throughout action scenes added so much to the storytelling and kept things interesting. The characters themselves really drove the way the scenes played out, and the writing pulled you in through reading about their reactions to the circumstances, their thoughts, feelings and decisions.
I think this book is supposedly Joe Abercrombie’s take on ‘cosy’ fantasy. Having not read anything else by this author, I can’t comment on how this differs to his other books, but I personally really enjoyed the lighthearted undertones of the writing and how this contrasted with the gruesomeness of some of the situations. I think he struck a really nice balance here, although I could see how others might find the humour too distracting from the ‘seriousness’ and high stakes of the story.
Honestly the more I think about this book, the more I love it! But at the time of reading, it didn’t quite give me the 5 star feeling because it definitely felt like a lot of active effort to keep picking it up, and I never felt like I got to the addictive ‘I can’t put this down’ stage that I was hoping for. It is a LONG book, but if you’re willing to give it the time and your full attention, then I’d say it’s absolutely worth it.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting premise. LOVED Steven Pacey’s narration-he made it!