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annabel__b's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
verkeerd's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I liked the fast pace and some of the action was bonkers. I feel like the worldbuilding has set up an enourmous potential and I can't wait to see what is outside of the thrine and inside the white city. Aditionally, I am eager to learn more about the past. However, the sotry didn't leave that much of an impact on me yet. It also has the potential to deal with the question what it means to be human, which could be really interesting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
amybraunauthor's review
5.0
I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this book. To give a little context, I have to be honest and admit that it took me a couple chapters to warm to a couple of the main characters. But once I was hooked, I was HOOKED. This is what epic fantasy is all about––gritty, brutal, dangerous, and fraught with unforeseen complications. I found myself clapping a hand over my mouth, having my jaw drop, and cursing almost as much as some of the characters do. Said characters are awesome, even the ones I initially struggled with. Mostly, this was in regards to Cole, who was insufferably arrogant at first. But he turned out to be a complex character, and I really enjoyed where his story went. I expect great things from him in the future... I hope! *bites nails.* Sasha is a tough as nails female lead with an interesting backstory, I liked Emerul's story even though I'm not sure I'm fond of him as a person, Barandas is a great, tragic character caught on the wrong side of a war, and there are tons of other side characters to enjoy. But it all comes down to one stand-out: Brodar !@#$ing Kayne. Talk about a badass. Easily one of the toughest characters ever written in fantasy, and one of my favourites. It's impossible not to love him. He's got an excellently written past, a good heart, humour, honour, and is an absolute beast in combat. I would read the books for him alone. But there's more! The action is plentiful, bloody, and visceral. The magic is unique and terrifying. The monsters and vicious tribes send chills down your spine. The ending will leave you begging for more. The more I think about THE GRIM COMPANY, the more I realize how thoroughly I enjoyed it. I'm looking at the sequel on my coffee table right now and thinking, "I can't wait to go on another adventure!" If that's not the sign of a great fantasy book, I don't know what is.
joshecobb's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
markimus's review
3.0
I so badly wanted to love this book, and it started off quite strongly, but in the end it just fizzled out. There was just too much going on for me to keep track of, and the only characters I cared about were not even utilized that much ( kayne and the wolf). Davarus Cole was quite annoying, and I couldn't really latch onto the story. This may have worked better if the author had stuck to two perspectives, but this seems like another book trying to justify a map (which in most cases I ignore). Anyway, the fight scenes were solid, but even those seemed disappointing. The only scene I was really into was the fight between Kayne and the Augmentor. I'm shocked the author wasn't more detailed with the giant Sumnian general's fight. To sum up: decent fight scenes and really that's it.
lundos's review
3.0
Characters heavily influenced by Abercrombie with a pinch of Erikson, and a plot that could have beeen inspired by the old Dark Sun quintet. The Davarus Cole chapters were fun. Smug good-for-nothing 'anti-hero' with delusions and childish mannerisms. Overall enjoyable and a good setup for the next one in the series.
joeri81's review
3.0
I've been in a bit of a reading slump of lately so it took me a long time to finish this book (about 3,5 months). It's not that it was a bad book, I enjoyed it good enough, I was just focused on other stuff and didn't find the time to read. Once I really started, I finished the remainder of the book in a short time. It's got fluid writing so it is easy to read, it's got a multiple interesting characters, suspense, intruigue, lots of action and a lot of blood and gore ... a lot of things I'm looking for in a good fantasy book. It's probably the fantasy book I enjoyed the most in the last couple of months ... but still I've given it only 3 stars.
The books tells the story about the Trine, consisting mainly of three major cities: Shadowport, Thelassa and Dorminia. Each of them is controlled by a Magelord, one of the few remaining mages who took part in bringing down the Gods 500 years ago. The focus is in the first place on Dorminia and the Magelord Salazar who rules like a tyran over his citizens. It's not unexpecting that there have been plots against him in the past and others are still plotting against him now. One of the groups that want to bring him down are the Shards with their leader Garett, an influencial merchant in the city. Other important characters within the Shards are Davarus Cole, a youngster who thinks too much of himself. There is also Sasha, the love interest of Davarus Cole.
When Cole stumbles into a highlander on one night he triggers a lot of events, bringing him finally to the other side of the Trine, into Thelassa and into the service of the White Lady. The Highlander; Brodar Kayne aka Sword of the North, sets out to destroy the mining business for raw magic with the other Shards. All of this will lead to a great climax at the end with the war between Dorminia and Thelassa.
I can understand the critics that Luke Scull isn't writing one of the most original stories, there are indeed paralells with other books I've read. One of the most cited books are those of Joe Abercrombie and his First Law trilogie. Personnally I'm not a fan of this series, especially the first book is a huge letdown. It gets better from there, but it never gets amazing. In comparison to that trilogy I already liked the first book of the Grim Company better. I'm curious how this will continue in the coming books.
Conclusion:.
The problem with the book is that it doesn't excel in anything. It's enjoyable and it has a lot of good aspects but it lacks the true 4 or 5 star quality I expect from such books. In the end I've given it it only 3,5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.
Rating: 7.1/10
The books tells the story about the Trine, consisting mainly of three major cities: Shadowport, Thelassa and Dorminia. Each of them is controlled by a Magelord, one of the few remaining mages who took part in bringing down the Gods 500 years ago. The focus is in the first place on Dorminia and the Magelord Salazar who rules like a tyran over his citizens. It's not unexpecting that there have been plots against him in the past and others are still plotting against him now. One of the groups that want to bring him down are the Shards with their leader Garett, an influencial merchant in the city. Other important characters within the Shards are Davarus Cole, a youngster who thinks too much of himself. There is also Sasha, the love interest of Davarus Cole.
When Cole stumbles into a highlander on one night he triggers a lot of events, bringing him finally to the other side of the Trine, into Thelassa and into the service of the White Lady. The Highlander; Brodar Kayne aka Sword of the North, sets out to destroy the mining business for raw magic with the other Shards. All of this will lead to a great climax at the end with the war between Dorminia and Thelassa.
I can understand the critics that Luke Scull isn't writing one of the most original stories, there are indeed paralells with other books I've read. One of the most cited books are those of Joe Abercrombie and his First Law trilogie. Personnally I'm not a fan of this series, especially the first book is a huge letdown. It gets better from there, but it never gets amazing. In comparison to that trilogy I already liked the first book of the Grim Company better. I'm curious how this will continue in the coming books.
Conclusion:.
The problem with the book is that it doesn't excel in anything. It's enjoyable and it has a lot of good aspects but it lacks the true 4 or 5 star quality I expect from such books. In the end I've given it it only 3,5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.
Rating: 7.1/10
highlanderajax's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Solidly fine, unspectacular. The plot is a fairly standard paint-by-numbers fantasy one, which is fine - there's no reason to mess with something that works. The characters are generally fairly well-written, the action is better than expected, and the world is well-constructed.
However, the book can't really seem to decide what it wants to be. Does it want to be a fantasy world with blood and gore, does it want to poke fun at aspects of those stories, does it want to play things tongue-in-cheek or straight? It's an awkward mix at times, and it leaves the overall tone feeling a little bit jumbled. It occasionally comes across as a slightly watered-down First Law series. There's explosions of that type of bloody, upsetting violence here and there, but then the tone will slide back a bit, only for another scene 20 pages later to revert to the same thing. It's not bad, but it's uneven, and it changes the feeling of the book significantly.
This is a decent enough book. Nice pacing, it's a quick read, and it's fairly entertaining. I probably wouldn't recommend it that much - I feel that most of what it does can be done better by other novels - but it's not bad, and there are interesting enough threads left that I could see myself, at some point, potentially picking up a sequel - if I was looking for another short, not too tough read.
However, the book can't really seem to decide what it wants to be. Does it want to be a fantasy world with blood and gore, does it want to poke fun at aspects of those stories, does it want to play things tongue-in-cheek or straight? It's an awkward mix at times, and it leaves the overall tone feeling a little bit jumbled. It occasionally comes across as a slightly watered-down First Law series. There's explosions of that type of bloody, upsetting violence here and there, but then the tone will slide back a bit, only for another scene 20 pages later to revert to the same thing. It's not bad, but it's uneven, and it changes the feeling of the book significantly.
This is a decent enough book. Nice pacing, it's a quick read, and it's fairly entertaining. I probably wouldn't recommend it that much - I feel that most of what it does can be done better by other novels - but it's not bad, and there are interesting enough threads left that I could see myself, at some point, potentially picking up a sequel - if I was looking for another short, not too tough read.