Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

5 reviews

da3m0nic's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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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janbabs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I don't know quite what to make of this one. It's a First Law novel, so of course it was highly enjoyable and often very funny. However, with it only taking place over 3 days, and following the course of one battle, it lacked the usual plot-heavy momentum of the previous books. It was like a slice-of-life/vignette of a larger story and felt like a place-holder for what's to come. The characters were brilliant as always. Shivers' descent into cold-hearted existentialism develops further, and I particularly enjoyed Bremer dan Gorst's arc. This has left me wanting more, which I suspect was exactly the point!
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10stormlight's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense 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

4.0

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amir_hamza's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny informative 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

4.25

A clear step up from Best Served Cold and comfortably my second favourite First Law Book after Last Argument of Kings, The Heroes was still something that left me somewhat disappointed. By all means, it's not a bad book, but my expectations from it were much, much higher. When I finished Day 2 I thought the quality of the book would just keep on climbing higher, but it seemed from that point the quality, like the pacing, it just jogged steadily towards the ending. This is a straightforward book, almost painfully so. (Vague spoilers) 
There's no mind-blowing plot twist, no jaw-dropping revelation or epic magical twist (this book has basically no magic or fantastical element at all).
There's just a deus ex machina in the very last part
Shivers killing Dow , after which literally everything goes to Calder's favour instantaneously
, which was the only decision in the book I hated, as it was far too convenient a thing to occur by First Law standards.
Yes, the character work is the best yet, by far. Yes, so is the thematic work. This is absolutely one of the most thoughtful reads I've had along with Dandelion Dynasty. But it just lacks that oomph that to me, regrettably makes it harder to rate above:
8.5/10.
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bookishwondergoth's review against another edition

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dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Still great. Enjoyed it even more on a reread via audiobook. Rereading all of these back to back continues to be a rewarding and worthwhile exercise!
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