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nerdkitten's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Torture, War, Body horror, Classism, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, Animal death, Cannibalism, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
Moderate: Confinement, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Grief, Medical content, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abandonment, Body shaming, Slavery, Ableism, Rape, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, Excrement, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Child death, Misogyny, and Self harm
singalana's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Animal death, Chronic illness, Sexual content, and Cursing
Minor: Medical content, Slavery, Alcohol, Body horror, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Trafficking, and Vomit
mikarala's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I flirted with rating this 4.5 stars, actually, and up until maybe 300-350 pages in, maybe I would have. Unfortunately, that's the point where the tension peaked overall for the book, so I have a similar problem with Book 2 as I did with Book 1, which is that I think the pacing is not great. Again, it was a lot better this time, and overall this book maintained tension pretty well throughout, but if the actual climax of the book doesn't beat the midpoint for action and tension, that's a problem for me. I understand this is more or less a consequence of having 3 separate plotlines in this book and needing to cover a certain amount of ground before Book 3 starts, but it's still something I personally find frustrating.
One other gripe I have is that the characters, while not necessarily shallow, sort of seem defined by like one (1) thing from their past. Except for maybe Logen, the characters don't often reflect on anything from the past in their POV chapters, and if they do, it's basically the same damn thing every time. Jezal has older brothers he feels competitive with, but they don't have names or specific memories attached to them. Glokta was a famed warrior before he was tortured and made a cripple as a POW, but he only ever thinks about that in general terms. With Ferro, we more or less only get her backstory when other characters make her talk about it, otherwise she just think about how she wants vengeance on the Gurkish for making her a slave, with nothing about that experience described in any detail.
Again, I won't say the characters are shallow, overall. For the most part, they have complex motives and feelings, and there's character growth, too. So maybe it's just a personal preference that's not being met here, but the fact that the character histories are so bare-bones just feels like some missing depth. This is also how I feel about Abercrombie's world-building, for what it's worth. I think he does a much better job on that score than in Book 1, but it still seems a bit surface-level. It kind of feels like he's trying to cover so much ground in terms of having multiple character threads and plotlines that will hopefully converge in Book 3, that he doesn't have the time to actually flesh out the world beyond what's absolutely necessary for the story. It's functional, but it doesn't make me feel immersed in the world the way I like in a fantasy setting.
However, I did rate this 4 stars, so let's talk about what I liked: first of all, as I wrote earlier, this book does a great job of maintaining quite a high level of tension throughout. Although it does dip somewhat towards the back third, there's still a lot going on that's intriguing, surprising, and overall gets you invested in the action. Whereas I felt like Book 1 spent a long time lingering on boring and unimportant shit, all the events in this book felt relevant and important to forward the plot or develop the characters/world-building.
I also really loved the character dynamics. Seeing a couple of different POV's from the first book collide and now working together in the sequel was honestly just really fun, and I liked to see how they bounced off each other. There were three separate plot lines in this book: one with Logen, Ferro, and Jezal following Bayaz across the Old Empire to retrieve a magical MacGuffin, one with West and Dogman & co colliding as the army of Northmen march on Angland, and one of Glokta in the South trying to hold the city of Dagoska against seemingly impossible odds as a Gurkish army beseiged it. Of the three, I probably liked the first the most, I guess because it seemed like the most important to the brewing fight against Khalul and his Eaters that appears to be the larger conflict of the trilogy, but also because I just enjoyed the mix of personalities. However, I actually liked the other plotlines overall as well (a huge improvement over Book 1, where I pretty much only liked following Logen's POV). The North/Angland war plotline did the best job of actually building towards a big climax at the end, with an entertaining dynamic from the clash of cultures as West began to work with our crew of Northmen.
The Glokta storyline was somewhat more frustrating for me. I was really invested in his political intrigues in Dagoska and seeing him prepare for a siege, but that plotline peaked at the midpoint of the story.
But overall, a really strong second entry for a fantasy trilogy, that does a great job of bringing elements from the first book together, challenging our MC's in exciting and interesting situations, and ramping up the tension for the series' conclusion.
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Self harm
Minor: Cannibalism
whichwitcher's review against another edition
- 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
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
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
saemiligr's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Murder, Death, Torture, War, Medical trauma, Animal death, Violence, and Chronic illness
marthadude's review against another edition
- 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
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.coulro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Excrement, Genocide, Grief, Animal death, Sexual content, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Vomit, Classism, Cursing, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and War
kylieqrada's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Slavery
taglharp's review
- 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
4.0
From a structural point of view, middle books in trilogies are always hard to judge for me. Not much experience analyzing them as I do with beginnings. The better they are in the elements I favor, the harder I know how to review them. This one is no different.
But. Say one thing for Abercrombie, say that he does not let you down when it comes to characters. Bastards they might be, bastard roles they might play, and yet no matter how vile... they fucking grow on you. If you were ever attached to any characters you met in the first book, well. I have both good and bad news for you in this one.
(And though I do have some qualms about certain choices in the narrative, they're few compared to the good.)
NGEL, don't think I'll be able to keep myself from jumping on the Last Argument of Kings ASAP.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Cannibalism, Sexual content, Slavery, and Torture
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
steviwondr's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death and Domestic abuse