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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
Nowhere near as good as the First Law trilogy or standalone books.
The story itself is not bad, but it feels very much like we've been here before. Another war in the North culminating in an epic duel? Very familiar territory. The industrial revolution and the resulting social upheaval definitely has a lot of potential, but unfortunately the entire rebellion subplot just wasn't interesting to me.
I have to say I found most of the main characters quite annoying. Rikke, Savine, and Leo are all fairly irritating for different reasons, with Savine's opening few chapters being some of the worst First Law content so far due to some extremely cringeworthy dialogue. Orso is the best new character because he's much more self-aware when it comes to his flaws. Most of the other characters introduced just aren't interesting; I can't remember anything about Vick at all, whilst Gunnar Broad is just a boring version of Logen.
The villains are pretty poor. Stour Nightfall is like some basement dwelling 4chan edge-lord, up until his final scene which is actually pretty great. Meanwhile, the rebel leader Judge is extremely one-dimensional and has some truly horrible dialogue.
I wouldn't call Joe woke exactly, but there's definitely some slightly bizarre 'social commentary' type content in here. For example, a scene in which the author goes out of his way to describe how much a certain character hates foreigners, and then immediately has that same character almost get gang raped. I mean WTF - really? There's also a clear element of 'girl power' running through the book in general. I remember one scene where the Dogman randomly congratulates another character on being such a successful female leader. Male characters are generally helped or outwitted by female characters at every opportunity, including the final battle/duel where Rikke saves the day at the last moment. Perhaps this was an attempt to make up for the overt machismo in the earlier books, but it feels pretty forced.
Two stars because Joe still writes quite well. I will continue the trilogy at some point and hopefully it improves.
The story itself is not bad, but it feels very much like we've been here before. Another war in the North culminating in an epic duel? Very familiar territory. The industrial revolution and the resulting social upheaval definitely has a lot of potential, but unfortunately the entire rebellion subplot just wasn't interesting to me.
I have to say I found most of the main characters quite annoying. Rikke, Savine, and Leo are all fairly irritating for different reasons, with Savine's opening few chapters being some of the worst First Law content so far due to some extremely cringeworthy dialogue. Orso is the best new character because he's much more self-aware when it comes to his flaws. Most of the other characters introduced just aren't interesting; I can't remember anything about Vick at all, whilst Gunnar Broad is just a boring version of Logen.
The villains are pretty poor. Stour Nightfall is like some basement dwelling 4chan edge-lord, up until his final scene which is actually pretty great. Meanwhile, the rebel leader Judge is extremely one-dimensional and has some truly horrible dialogue.
I wouldn't call Joe woke exactly, but there's definitely some slightly bizarre 'social commentary' type content in here. For example, a scene in which the author goes out of his way to describe how much a certain character hates foreigners, and then immediately has that same character almost get gang raped. I mean WTF - really? There's also a clear element of 'girl power' running through the book in general. I remember one scene where the Dogman randomly congratulates another character on being such a successful female leader. Male characters are generally helped or outwitted by female characters at every opportunity, including the final battle/duel where Rikke saves the day at the last moment. Perhaps this was an attempt to make up for the overt machismo in the earlier books, but it feels pretty forced.
Two stars because Joe still writes quite well. I will continue the trilogy at some point and hopefully it improves.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
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:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I devoured this book.
I'm a huge Abercrombie fan despite the fact that I was completely unaware of this trilogy's existence. So very excited to jump back into the next generation of this world with The Age of Madness. A lot of familiar (albeit much older) faces in these pages. A lot of innovation and "modernization." A bit like the second trilogy of the Mistborn books if they'd been smooshed into the original series.
Just an all around fun read. Victorian era nobles, labor disputes, and a lot of that classic sword and sorcery flavor that makes Joe's books so fun. And of course, a lot of really well written fight scenes.
There was a long cinematic section during a riot somewhere in the middle of the book that I found to be pretty uncomfortable and tedious (I reckon it was supposed to feel the former and not the latter) and I'm finding myself pretty worn out with narrative jumping cinematic flourishes in the Abercrombie universe... so not quite a five star experience. But very, very close.
I'm a huge Abercrombie fan despite the fact that I was completely unaware of this trilogy's existence. So very excited to jump back into the next generation of this world with The Age of Madness. A lot of familiar (albeit much older) faces in these pages. A lot of innovation and "modernization." A bit like the second trilogy of the Mistborn books if they'd been smooshed into the original series.
Just an all around fun read. Victorian era nobles, labor disputes, and a lot of that classic sword and sorcery flavor that makes Joe's books so fun. And of course, a lot of really well written fight scenes.
There was a long cinematic section during a riot somewhere in the middle of the book that I found to be pretty uncomfortable and tedious (I reckon it was supposed to feel the former and not the latter) and I'm finding myself pretty worn out with narrative jumping cinematic flourishes in the Abercrombie universe... so not quite a five star experience. But very, very close.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Me ha costado leerlo, puede que no estuviera al principio en el modo. Se me hizo un poco lento al principio, se que es un libro introductorio. Muchos personajes, que me liaban un poco, muchas referencias a los libros anteriores.
A partir de la mitad del libro se pone muy interesante, buenos giros de guión, los personajes como siempre muy bien construidos. Veremos en los siguientes tomos.
Un 8.5/10
A partir de la mitad del libro se pone muy interesante, buenos giros de guión, los personajes como siempre muy bien construidos. Veremos en los siguientes tomos.
Un 8.5/10
The complex characters in this book, really come to life and I couldn't help but fall in love with them and this book. Would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy or has read any of Joe Abercombie's work. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.
adventurous
dark
tense
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
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, War
Minor: Misogyny, Slavery, Xenophobia