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surdiablo's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Pedophilia
apiecalypsejen'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
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
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
xphilphil'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
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, and Cursing
Minor: Rape and Torture
elliotvanz's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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