Reviews with content warning for Torture - Before They Are Hanged

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

39 reviews

maidofbees's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

4.0

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singalana's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Before they are hanged is deliciously dark fantasy with gritty characters. The book picks up pretty much where The blade itself ended, and follows mainly three plotlines: the fate of Dagoska, the journey to the Edge of the World and the war between the Union and the Northmen.

The cast of characters is vast, but the characters are interesting and feel real with all their faults. Reading these books, it definitely feels as though the characters are influencing the plot as much as the plot is influencing them. The story arc is complex, and you can’t just pick up a book in the middle of the series and hope to understand what is happening. This book ends up the same as The Blade Itself: the story is by no means finished. Therefore if you like books in a series to have clear endings, then you are not going to like this.

I liked this book very much, and the narrator in the audiobook was excellent. My only complaints are that this book could have been trimmed a bit, it felt like it was going on for ever (even though it avoided being boring). And the second complaint was that the sex scenes were a little bit awkward to listen to in the audiobook. Other than that, I enjoyed this very much and I can’t wait to see what happens in the final book of the trilogy.

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crownlullaby's review

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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gus717's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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surdiablo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Just as amusing as the first book with a much tighter plot. There's plenty of believable character development and moments that either kept me on edge or had me laughing out loud after midnight. Regardless of how intrigued I am by the history of the order of Magi or how much I like Logen, Glokta is the one who continues to steal the show for me so far consistently, way more than anyone else. Unfortunately, I can't say if I enjoyed this as much as its its predecessor ( I had spoiled the ending accidentally which did take away some emotional impact ), but I think it's an improvement over the first book when you consider the overall structure and writing. Without delving into details, you may either love or hate the ending depending on your preferences, I personally found it hilarious.

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eh1736's review

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dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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dreamreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such a massive step up from the first book (a book that was already really good) that I'm actually a little shocked. I remember the exact chapter that I decided this was going to be a 5-star book, and it wasn't even halfway through. I'm glad the second half didn't let me down and change that decision.

This book was wildly atmospheric. I remember thinking that the first book wasn't nearly as dark as I expected it to be. This one was. This was so dark. A few of the torture scenes got to be a little much for me, even, though I don't think it ever crossed a line I personally would have been unable to handle. I mostly enjoyed how there's a reason for the dark nature of this book. It isn't dark for the sake of being dark, but because there are forces moving in this world, some of them having slowly crept along for what seems like hundreds, maybe thousands of years, to get to this one moment when all things are converging. Awesome world building.

The characters as well remain singularly incredible, not because they are likable, but because they are so well developed that I can't even really be annoyed with them for their flaws. Ferro really grew on me in this book, and I still really like Jezal as well. The plot that followed Ferro, Jezal, and Logen was my favorite in this book. I'm super curious about Quai. His character felt like it received a reboot for this book, and I'm wondering what caused such a drastic change in his personality.

If I didn't have other books to read, I would pick up the third book in this series right away. I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

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