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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
I loved The First Law trilogy, but I struggled to get into this story, as the story didn’t capture my interest, and I found most of the characters either unlikable or annoying. The dark atmosphere was still there, but without characters I truly cared about, it didn't have same pull as the original trilogy. Rikke was the one exception—I enjoyed her character and story line—but beyond that, I found it hard to stay invested.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
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:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
DNF'd al 40%. Lo tuve que pausar para leer otra cosa y al retomarlo me di cuenta de que todos los personajes me caían mal y que no tenía el chichi para grimdark. Supongo que acabará estando bien, lo volveré a intentar cuando me dé por ahí.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Abercrombie still has good dialogue and storytelling. But having read so many of his books they have gotten predictable. There are always young warriors who believe in glory, followed by a battle that goes into great detail about how terrible battles are in reality to teach them a lesson. Anyone who feels prideful will be humbled within a chapter, and anyone who builds something good will see it torn down by the end of the book. Makes me wish he'd try building a new world and mix it up a little.
What more can be said that other reviewers haven't already covered? The characters have depth and evolve over the course of the story. The world, which clearly existed in previous Abercrombie stories, is still fully fleshed out in this as a stand-alone.
There's real drama, and urgency, and humor. The "villains" are flawed characters with goals, not one-dimensional tropes. There's blood, surprising violence really, but it adds to the drama and story-building rather than being gratuitous. The prose paints a deep and complex picture without distracting from the plot.
My only negative is clear call-backs to previous stories set in the same world that I never read. But I can't begrudge a hat tip to dedicated fans, provided not many pages are sacrificed.
This might be a top 10 book for me right now.
There's real drama, and urgency, and humor. The "villains" are flawed characters with goals, not one-dimensional tropes. There's blood, surprising violence really, but it adds to the drama and story-building rather than being gratuitous. The prose paints a deep and complex picture without distracting from the plot.
My only negative is clear call-backs to previous stories set in the same world that I never read. But I can't begrudge a hat tip to dedicated fans, provided not many pages are sacrificed.
This might be a top 10 book for me right now.