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bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.75
Gosh, has it really been 11 years since I read this for the first time? Unreal. This was a reread via audiobook narrated by the excellent Stephen Pacey. It has been a joy to rediscover these books this way, and I will definitely be continuing.
Looking at the previous review I wrote for this book, I think I was way too harsh on it. It stands up incredibly well in the wider context of The First Law series, and to tell the truth, I don’t remember reading the latter half of the book beyond a couple of very key events, so it was nice to go back and refresh my memory and realise it wasn’t that pointless or awful after all!
It really is wonderful to be back with with these characters again, both as a veteran reader and also after having recently reread ‘Best Served Cold’ and ‘The Heroes’. Cosca, Shivers and “Lamb” all make a welcome reappearance, whilst new characters Temple and Shy are just as entertaining as they were the first time around. Temple especially is a delight. I see the blueprint of my all time favourite Orso (from The Age of Madness trilogy) in him; he's that rare breed of Abercrombie character who is genuinely good and just trying to do the right thing, even if he sometimes fails spectacularly.
I also really loved the ending to this one; bittersweet after so much misery in previous instalments—sometimes the light is necessary to make the darkness hit that much harder.
It remains Joe’s weakest book in The First Law series for sure, but that’s not really the biting of a criticism you think it is. I love this world, this story and these characters in all their messy glory with all my heart.
Looking at the previous review I wrote for this book, I think I was way too harsh on it. It stands up incredibly well in the wider context of The First Law series, and to tell the truth, I don’t remember reading the latter half of the book beyond a couple of very key events, so it was nice to go back and refresh my memory and realise it wasn’t that pointless or awful after all!
It really is wonderful to be back with with these characters again, both as a veteran reader and also after having recently reread ‘Best Served Cold’ and ‘The Heroes’. Cosca, Shivers and “Lamb” all make a welcome reappearance, whilst new characters Temple and Shy are just as entertaining as they were the first time around. Temple especially is a delight. I see the blueprint of my all time favourite Orso (from The Age of Madness trilogy) in him; he's that rare breed of Abercrombie character who is genuinely good and just trying to do the right thing, even if he sometimes fails spectacularly.
I also really loved the ending to this one; bittersweet after so much misery in previous instalments—sometimes the light is necessary to make the darkness hit that much harder.
It remains Joe’s weakest book in The First Law series for sure, but that’s not really the biting of a criticism you think it is. I love this world, this story and these characters in all their messy glory with all my heart.
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Vomit, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Trafficking, and War
Minor: Excrement, Sexual assault, and Torture
The story concerns the abuduction of children and their retrieval by the main character. The children are being trafficked to a buyer for a specfic plot reason, however they are not physically harmed or abused. Two of the characters are canonically alcoholics, one of whom is a lost cause and other who is trying to get better. There is also a backdrop subplot concerning rebellion (and consequently war) , and suppression of said rebellion by the inquisition. Contains the usual Joe Abercrombie grossness concerning bodily fluids, sex and swearing.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
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
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