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vaderbird's review against another edition
4.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
childofmongreldogs's review against another edition
2.0
Yikes. All the dialogue and characters and plot points just come off as trying too hard to be edgy. There were things that legitimately seemed cool, but unfortunately the author, I feel, doesn't quite have the style to pull it off.
Most of the characters were either unbelievably one dimensional and/or annoying, or frustratingly close to being interesting and missed the mark. Half of the characters, minor and major, come off as edge lords or elementary school kids who have just learned naughty words. Very few people talk like that in real life! I guess, grimmcdark fantasies are just populated with those kinds of people....
Two stars as opposed to one star since I actually did like the Cole kid and I honestly really liked how his character shaped up near the end of the book. Probably won't go for the others in the trilogy, but I enjoyed reading his chapters.
Most of the characters were either unbelievably one dimensional and/or annoying, or frustratingly close to being interesting and missed the mark. Half of the characters, minor and major, come off as edge lords or elementary school kids who have just learned naughty words. Very few people talk like that in real life! I guess, grimmcdark fantasies are just populated with those kinds of people....
Two stars as opposed to one star since I actually did like the Cole kid and I honestly really liked how his character shaped up near the end of the book. Probably won't go for the others in the trilogy, but I enjoyed reading his chapters.
hobouk's review against another edition
4.0
I finished it today, and largely enjoyed it. The author has a real talent for world building and created some very likeable characters (even if they were picked up right out of the bold old book of fantasy tropes) and managed to throw in some genuine humour amongst the standard grimdark setting.
The parallels with Abercrombie are obvious, and it's difficult not to see a lot of Abercrombie's characters in the Grim Company , not that this is a bad thing, the author - I believe - doesn't like the comparisons being drawn , though I'm sure there are worse authors he could be compared too.
The book does have some weak points, I felt there was a lot of info-dump in the first 50 pages, mostly in awkward dialogue sections (the dialogue in general was poor early in the book, but improved dramatically towards the end) and the characters were standard fantasy archetypes with standard tropey backgrounds. I was also a little disappointed with the ending, though this is entirely subjective.
Despite all that Scull manages to manges to make the book enjoyable in spite of its flaws,the pacing is perfect and he has formed an intriguing world with an interesting magic system , and ultimately left me wanting to read book 2 as soon as is possible ( the manuscript is due in July). The author does a lot right here, and seems to have an understanding of what is enjoyable and fun in the genre and should be applauded for a highly entertaining début.
7.75/10
The parallels with Abercrombie are obvious, and it's difficult not to see a lot of Abercrombie's characters in the Grim Company , not that this is a bad thing, the author - I believe - doesn't like the comparisons being drawn , though I'm sure there are worse authors he could be compared too.
The book does have some weak points, I felt there was a lot of info-dump in the first 50 pages, mostly in awkward dialogue sections (the dialogue in general was poor early in the book, but improved dramatically towards the end) and the characters were standard fantasy archetypes with standard tropey backgrounds. I was also a little disappointed with the ending, though this is entirely subjective.
Despite all that Scull manages to manges to make the book enjoyable in spite of its flaws,the pacing is perfect and he has formed an intriguing world with an interesting magic system , and ultimately left me wanting to read book 2 as soon as is possible ( the manuscript is due in July). The author does a lot right here, and seems to have an understanding of what is enjoyable and fun in the genre and should be applauded for a highly entertaining début.
7.75/10
grmatthews's review against another edition
4.0
It is a dark and gritty tale. The world building is excellent and I enjoyed the set up of the Mage Lords and the war against the Gods. The characters are well drawn though I did wonder, as I read, why the 'hero' shifted from one person to another as the book progressed. This was perhaps clever plotting, bearing mind the ending and the set up for book two, or the realisation that the original hero wasn't that likeable and heroic. I am choosing to believe it was the former of the two - the book is too well written and engrossing for it to be the latter.
some_reads's review against another edition
3.0
For the first half of the Grim Company, I was constantly fighting a voice in the back of my head saying I should just put this down. Many of the characters we're introduced to early on are very unlike-able. Many are inept enough that you wonder how they ever survived to become protagonists here. Never mind the apparent villains, who seemed simply to be overly familiar archetypes. I really, really wasn't enthusiastic about ploughing on. Luckily, the early appearance of two barbarian wanderers, Kayne and Jerek was just tantalising enough to keep me interested, if only for their chapters initially, and eventually The Grim Company began to hit a certain stride.
It might have been a battle at first, but I'm glad to have stuck it out now. Mostly that has to do with the action sequences. They are superb and occur with ever greater frequency as we push into the second half of the novel. They're a real joy to read and the barbarians increasingly steal the show as we continue. Unfortunately, the rest of our ensemble cast are not even half as interesting and worse than that, when all is finally revealed about the apparent villain, you find yourself rooting for them over the band of misfits opposing them.
Still, while I may not have enjoyed the story particularly, I did enjoy the adventure.
It might have been a battle at first, but I'm glad to have stuck it out now. Mostly that has to do with the action sequences. They are superb and occur with ever greater frequency as we push into the second half of the novel. They're a real joy to read and the barbarians increasingly steal the show as we continue. Unfortunately, the rest of our ensemble cast are not even half as interesting and worse than that, when all is finally revealed about the apparent villain, you find yourself rooting for them over the band of misfits opposing them.
Still, while I may not have enjoyed the story particularly, I did enjoy the adventure.
synobal's review against another edition
4.0
Grim Indeed, Luke Scull is definitely an author I'll be keeping an eye on in the future.
waywardtrekkie's review against another edition
I did not like the characters, they were completely cardboard. No personalities. And any personality they did have was dull. I've read these characters before. Despite having an interesting story line... I couldn't finish it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Domestic abuse
murcatto's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Now that's what I call grimdark! Lots of different points of view characters and all characters are well fleshed out. And nobody comes out of this clean.
The worldbuilding is extensive and keeps growing and growing with more lands, creatures, cultures and especially lore added throughout the story.
Looking forward to reading the second book.
The worldbuilding is extensive and keeps growing and growing with more lands, creatures, cultures and especially lore added throughout the story.
Looking forward to reading the second book.
endoria's review against another edition
1.0
The "main character", if you want to call him that, is a delusional fop who has a very elevated opinion of himself. His constant monologues with himself or in his mind were so annoying, I had to put the book down.
If you have that one friend who always thinks himself better than he is and all you can do is roll your eyes when they talk about themselves, that is exactly how the "protagonist" is. That really pissed me off.
If you have that one friend who always thinks himself better than he is and all you can do is roll your eyes when they talk about themselves, that is exactly how the "protagonist" is. That really pissed me off.
winters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence