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awolf's review
5.0
Amazing but very gory Grimdark. It definitely reminded me of Joe Abercrombie's First Law series, but had a lot of distinct elements of it's own. There are wizards, grizzled Northmen, an unlikable young hero with an overinflated ego, which are all shared elements, but there's also an amazing amount of world building and it's a bit of a quicker read. I can't wait to read more.
janegonz's review against another edition
3.0
Joe abercrombie fans will enjoy this book. It got off to a slow start, but picked up speed before the halfway mark. My only real criticism; a few too many really convenient plot points.
aphrael's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
3.0
I've waited to long to write this review and I can say the title is absolutely terrible because it took me a bit to remember what it was about.
The main character is absolutely insufferable, but the book is mostly self aware about it even if he isn't. This book has a lot of extremely fortuitous coincidences for the plot, but on the other hand people who seem important at first can die. That really ups the stakes.
The politics and factions are pretty messy and the history/theology is too. Nobody is absolute good or absolute evil, and even at the end of the book we don't know enough to realize what the consequences of the ending would be. I appreciate that.
Overall it's a pretty good book, even if one of the main characters is terrible. It ends on a big cliffhanger so I might pick up the next one.
The main character is absolutely insufferable, but the book is mostly self aware about it even if he isn't. This book has a lot of extremely fortuitous coincidences for the plot, but on the other hand people who seem important at first can die. That really ups the stakes.
The politics and factions are pretty messy and the history/theology is too. Nobody is absolute good or absolute evil, and even at the end of the book we don't know enough to realize what the consequences of the ending would be. I appreciate that.
Overall it's a pretty good book, even if one of the main characters is terrible. It ends on a big cliffhanger so I might pick up the next one.
dominish_books's review against another edition
The Grim Company by Luke Scull was another of those “new to me” novels that I was quite looking forward to reading. The premise sounded reasonable, and it was another chance to start an exciting series from a new author. Unfortunately it didn't live up to the promise and instead turned out to be one of those rare novels that I wasn't able to finish. The Grim Company just couldn't grab hold of my attention, no matter how hard it tried – nothing it could do could get me beyond half way through.
The characters were ok, but certainly not memorable, and parts of the plot were just too formulaic. It centred around a ragtag group of revolutionaries headed up (in terms of the storyline lead character at least) by a young lad with a destiny handed down by birth, and a magical blade at his side. They set off on a quest to overthrow the resident evil wizard after their base of operations is compromised, just after they meet some new barbarian friends in all too convenient fashion. It was like this book wanted me to get on board, but just wasn't going to try very hard to persuade me.
The characters were ok, but certainly not memorable, and parts of the plot were just too formulaic. It centred around a ragtag group of revolutionaries headed up (in terms of the storyline lead character at least) by a young lad with a destiny handed down by birth, and a magical blade at his side. They set off on a quest to overthrow the resident evil wizard after their base of operations is compromised, just after they meet some new barbarian friends in all too convenient fashion. It was like this book wanted me to get on board, but just wasn't going to try very hard to persuade me.
wildflowerz76's review against another edition
3.0
This was a pretty decent read. I think maybe it's just not wholely my kind of thing. I prefer a little more in the personal relationships and more estrogen. I think my husband might like this one better, so I'm passing it on to him. I also don't love long, drawn out battle scenes and that was the entire last of this book. But seriously, what did I expect. Still, I tried it. It was pretty good, just not for me, I think.
old_tim's review against another edition
4.0
At first glance, The Grim Company appears to be a bog standard fantasy novel. In a city state ruled by an ancient despotic mage, a disparate group of adventurers struggle to end his rule. There’s a young man destined to be a great hero, a couple of grizzled barbarians, a troubled young woman, an underpowered mage, etc etc….
Fortunately Scull almost immediately sets about deconstruction of these tropes. The gap between the young man’s mental version of his life and the actual version is comical. The barbarian has a rich internal life. The underpowered mage doesn’t power up and defeat all their foes. He develops these characters somewhat slowly, but carefully. They’re flawed, but still able to generate our sympathy and interest.
The plot itself is rapid and propulsive, as the group encounters numerous dangers and problems on the way to reaching their goal. The climactic battle sequence is suitably epic, with plenty of carnage. Despite the book’s length, it feels like a short quick read.
There were a couple of problems, though they are common to first novels and to the start of a series in particular. Early in the book there’s quite a bit of infodumping. While the information is necessary, the manner of delivery is awkward and interrupts what is otherwise a strong narrative flow.
The other problematic area is the lack of development of the female characters in the book. While there are numerous female characters on all sides of the moral spectrum, most are underdeveloped with their plotlines seemingly leading nowhere. Hopefully these plotlines will be developed further in the subsequent books in the series.
Despite these flaws, The Grim Company is an impressive first novel. Scull has created memorable characters and a unique fantasy world that should only improve with subsequent volumes. Highly recommended for fans of Abercrombe, Sullivan, et al.
Fortunately Scull almost immediately sets about deconstruction of these tropes. The gap between the young man’s mental version of his life and the actual version is comical. The barbarian has a rich internal life. The underpowered mage doesn’t power up and defeat all their foes. He develops these characters somewhat slowly, but carefully. They’re flawed, but still able to generate our sympathy and interest.
The plot itself is rapid and propulsive, as the group encounters numerous dangers and problems on the way to reaching their goal. The climactic battle sequence is suitably epic, with plenty of carnage. Despite the book’s length, it feels like a short quick read.
There were a couple of problems, though they are common to first novels and to the start of a series in particular. Early in the book there’s quite a bit of infodumping. While the information is necessary, the manner of delivery is awkward and interrupts what is otherwise a strong narrative flow.
The other problematic area is the lack of development of the female characters in the book. While there are numerous female characters on all sides of the moral spectrum, most are underdeveloped with their plotlines seemingly leading nowhere. Hopefully these plotlines will be developed further in the subsequent books in the series.
Despite these flaws, The Grim Company is an impressive first novel. Scull has created memorable characters and a unique fantasy world that should only improve with subsequent volumes. Highly recommended for fans of Abercrombe, Sullivan, et al.
matosapa's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this up because I am a huge Joe Abercrombie fan and the blurb (and reviews) read like this book would be similar. It was to some extent but the characters were generic and flat and the plot was nothing new. I had to make an effort to finish the book and will not be reading the rest of the trilogy.