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apiecalypsejen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- 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
This is probably my favourite of the stand alone books in the First Law world. I thought when I read the description I would like it the least but it ended up just being such a great story and so well woven together that I ended up loving it and on my subsequent read throughs of the books in this world I am always most pleased to end up at Best Served Cold and Red Country (though, The Heroes is also, tremendous, it doesn't have a woman character I like the way that these other two do.) It sheds more light on a different faction of folks who follow the old-ways of The Master Maker up in the mountains in the far country bordering the Old Empire (which if you read the first 3 books, you would have been somewhat acquainted with already. It also tells, about 10 years down the road, the story of one of the main characters who we never really got closure on from the end of book 3, now, returned in book 6. I will say that I respect the commitment that at no time, does anyone at any point refer to him as Logen, now that he has taken on his new name, Lamb, and he at no time, even when it would serve him very much to do so, does he refer to himself as Logen Nine-Fingers.
It's basically a gold rush story about what might happen if your children got stolen, and you were to discover that the guy who you thought was this sweet old man on your farm was a sleeper cell, and actually, one of the most prolific and famous killers in the world, ten years dormant. I highly recommend it. Especially if you've read the first 3 books.
No need to have read the first two stand alone books to follow this one, unless you are curious about what happened to Shivers eye .
It's basically a gold rush story about what might happen if your children got stolen, and you were to discover that the guy who you thought was this sweet old man on your farm was a sleeper cell, and actually, one of the most prolific and famous killers in the world, ten years dormant. I highly recommend it. Especially if you've read the first 3 books.
No need to have read the first two stand alone books to follow this one, unless you are curious about what happened to
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Drug abuse
Minor: Misogyny, Colonisation, Mental illness, Animal death, Abandonment, Confinement, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Child death, Child abuse, and Death of parent
elliotvanz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I haven't read the other books in this series, and I can't help but wonder how I might have interacted with this book if I had. As is it works reasonably well as a standalone so long as you don't mind spending the whole time feeling like you're not in on a joke, and being aware that some of the people you meet are probably a bigger deal, or recognizable, to readers familiar with the world.
This book feels more like a western (or a series of connected western stories) than it does a fantasy. Thankfully for me, that's what I signed up for, but someone going in looking for a fantasy epic is in for a surprise. There's no magic (at least that I noticed) - this is a western with swords and bows instead of guns (mostly). It hits many of the western story tropes: stolen children, mysterious strangers, wagons west, perilous natives, a broken down mining town, "this town's not big enough for the two of us," a heist, the last stand, and even a massacre. Which is where I get to why this was the most divisive book my book club has ever read.
This book is violent and filled with horrible people. I would argue the book tells you what it is right up front, so if you carry on and despite that, well, the book did warn you. Both implicitly and explicitly. When you get a scene where a dog's head ends up on a stick fairly early on that's a signpost for things to come. (Did you just decide to skip this book after reading that?) The language surrounding the people who are obviously stand-ins for the native peoples in the Cowboys versus Indians tropes is...not great. And the absolute gleeful slaughter that occurs later is disturbing. But I don't think that's entirely unintentional.
Abercrombie writes dark violent books that examine the failings of humanity, and how the mundane can be the monstrous. This book felt like an exploration of what makes someone a white hat versus a black hat, and how that assessment shifts depending on where you're standing. It's a deconstruction of western stories and the assumptions about the "good guys" featured is such tales. I found that compelling. A lot of people will simply find it nauseating. I would posit there's no wrong answer here. If you want to read a book exploring the monstrous side of the western genre, peopled with characters who are morally grey at best, this book might interest you. If you don't like reading about bad people doing bad things you're going to want to give this one a pass. Enjoyment of this book is very much going to boil down to a matter of taste.
This book feels more like a western (or a series of connected western stories) than it does a fantasy. Thankfully for me, that's what I signed up for, but someone going in looking for a fantasy epic is in for a surprise. There's no magic (at least that I noticed) - this is a western with swords and bows instead of guns (mostly). It hits many of the western story tropes: stolen children, mysterious strangers, wagons west, perilous natives, a broken down mining town, "this town's not big enough for the two of us," a heist, the last stand, and even a massacre. Which is where I get to why this was the most divisive book my book club has ever read.
This book is violent and filled with horrible people. I would argue the book tells you what it is right up front, so if you carry on and despite that, well, the book did warn you. Both implicitly and explicitly. When you get a scene where a dog's head ends up on a stick fairly early on that's a signpost for things to come. (Did you just decide to skip this book after reading that?) The language surrounding the people who are obviously stand-ins for the native peoples in the Cowboys versus Indians tropes is...not great. And the absolute gleeful slaughter that occurs later is disturbing. But I don't think that's entirely unintentional.
Abercrombie writes dark violent books that examine the failings of humanity, and how the mundane can be the monstrous. This book felt like an exploration of what makes someone a white hat versus a black hat, and how that assessment shifts depending on where you're standing. It's a deconstruction of western stories and the assumptions about the "good guys" featured is such tales. I found that compelling. A lot of people will simply find it nauseating. I would posit there's no wrong answer here. If you want to read a book exploring the monstrous side of the western genre, peopled with characters who are morally grey at best, this book might interest you. If you don't like reading about bad people doing bad things you're going to want to give this one a pass. Enjoyment of this book is very much going to boil down to a matter of taste.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Medical content, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Excrement, Grief, Rape, Sexual violence, and Torture
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