Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

43 reviews

dreamreader's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Torture

Moderate: Cannibalism

strawberrypinch's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Gore, War, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Colonisation, Trafficking, Murder, Cursing, and Xenophobia

Minor: Slavery, Body shaming, Racism, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Rape, Suicide, and Alcohol

jb567's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Trafficking, Chronic illness, Gore, Grief, Violence, War, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Toxic friendship, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Torture, and Xenophobia

imspaceman's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Torture

whichwitcher's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 I'm rooting for the torturer?

We get top-tier character work again from Abercrombie. His writing is punchy and humorous, and, at times, it can be profound.

We got a little in the way of plot in book two, but I'd have preferred more. It felt like if The Blade Itself introduced us to individual characters and storylines, then Before They Are Hanged introduced us to how they interact as part of a group. I'm still itching to flesh out the central thread - and I'm dying to see how characters' storylines converge, if at all.

Please do be aware of the following trigger warnings prior to reading: Ableism, Alcoholism,  Amputation, Animal murder, Assault, Attempted rape, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Decapitation, Emesis (vomiting), Famine, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexually explicit scene, Skeletons, Slavery, Torture, War 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, and War

Moderate: Genocide, Sexism, Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Minor: Alcohol

tmidge22's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual content, Death, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Torture, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Rape

saemiligr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

Powerful. Was completely swept away. Was mildly amused to remember that Logan talked to spirits. Read so many books where this was a big deal, and for this character it was a just a minor foot note of a complicated person.  Jezal's transformation was good, while Glokta's entire story is fascinating. It's exactly what people have said, none of them are GOOD people, but they are FACINATING people. 

I absolutely cackled with horror when the enormous journey ended up being a waste of time. It felt like a painful reflection of life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Murder, Death, Torture, War, Medical trauma, Animal death, Violence, and Chronic illness

tazzbird's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault and Cannibalism

marthadude's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This is a great second entry in this trilogy. It builds on the foundations of the first novel and leaves a lot of interesting loose ends for the next book to hopefully wrap up. Abercrombie’s character work is fantastic. I do have a gripe with the way the female characters are written. Only one of them feels fleshed out and the rest seem more like objects for the male characters to gain more characterization. I wish they just had more to do. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Cursing, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Vomit, and War

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Minor: Fatphobia and Suicidal thoughts

There is a scene where a female character is about to be raped but is saved. There are also consensual sex scenes. They aren’t too graphic but they get the point across. Lots of mentions of death, war, and torture.

nightcatcat's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture