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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
Ugh I love all of Abercrombie's books so much I wish they weren't over when I finish them. His characters are so well developed and his world, politics etc so well thought out that they are screaming for an adaptation. A Little Hatred takes place some years after the events of The Heroes, Red Country, etc. It is FASCINATING to see the technological advancement of the world and how the changes impact everyone. I just loved this book to pieces, honestly. Nobody is perfect, but everybody has their reasons for doing everything. I want the next book like tomorrow already.
Took me a while to warm up to this one. Maybe it would’ve been worth rereading the First Law books, mostly just to remember character connections.
I can’t say I really loved any of the characters in this book, but I did want to keep reading about them. There was one chapter where he passed the POV around for a while that reminded me of something else he’s written. And that bit near the end was definitely a shock to me.
I can’t say I really loved any of the characters in this book, but I did want to keep reading about them. There was one chapter where he passed the POV around for a while that reminded me of something else he’s written. And that bit near the end was definitely a shock to me.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Despite my love for Abercrombie's original First Law Trilogy, his expanded universe stand-alones, and even his other Young Adult trilogy, I put off reading this new series for almost 6 years after this first entry's initial release. I don't know why, and having read it, I can only assume it was my own stupidity holding me back.
This is an excellent return to form that had me laughing out loud in typical Abercrombie style, with beautiful development of the world I already know and love, plus some knew themes about human rights and some commentary on xenophobia to boot.
Excellent point-of-view characters (with a couple that are just okay) as is always the case for Abercrombie, plus some fun supporting cast who help to liven it up. The occasional one-dimensional stand-in serves to move the story forward, but overall I'm just happy to see that Abercrombie is no longer bad at writing women. Savine and Rikke in particular strike true as strong female personalities than could hold their own in an otherwise male-dominated world.
This was a pleasure to read and I'll be tearing through the rest of the series in due course.
This is an excellent return to form that had me laughing out loud in typical Abercrombie style, with beautiful development of the world I already know and love, plus some knew themes about human rights and some commentary on xenophobia to boot.
Excellent point-of-view characters (with a couple that are just okay) as is always the case for Abercrombie, plus some fun supporting cast who help to liven it up. The occasional one-dimensional stand-in serves to move the story forward, but overall I'm just happy to see that Abercrombie is no longer bad at writing women. Savine and Rikke in particular strike true as strong female personalities than could hold their own in an otherwise male-dominated world.
This was a pleasure to read and I'll be tearing through the rest of the series in due course.
A Little Hatred is the first in a new grimdark series from fantasy author Joe Abercrombie. While it contains characters from and references to an earlier series (the First Law world), you should be okay to jump into this one cold (though why would you, eh?).
Like many beginnings, this book introduces a large cast of characters and it does take some time to settle in and get to know them all. But Abercrombie is a talented writer who seemingly brings new characters to life with ease (seemingly because it's damn hard to do it well in reality). A few sentences it all it takes to make them breathe.
The plot is dark and windy and much of this book is setup for the ones to come, but it's an entertaining ride along the way.
Like many beginnings, this book introduces a large cast of characters and it does take some time to settle in and get to know them all. But Abercrombie is a talented writer who seemingly brings new characters to life with ease (seemingly because it's damn hard to do it well in reality). A few sentences it all it takes to make them breathe.
The plot is dark and windy and much of this book is setup for the ones to come, but it's an entertaining ride along the way.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
A great load of fun. A great book to breeze through, have a laugh, with some of the best characters in literature.
This was my sixth attempt at a Joe Abercrombie book. While the other five books began explosively well, they all lost their allure by their ends. Because although his character work is some of the best I've read, I always disliked the weakness of his plots. With this book, however, I got the great Abercrombie characters with a very tight and interesting plot, alongside themes that have always interested me greatly.
The man himself is immensely likeable, and clearly has an incredible passion for the craft, revising his books over and over again, trying to tell the truest story he can. And despite his claim of consciously removing the mythical aura surrounding writing, approaching the craft with a very workmanlike approach, in being so diligent about his techniques, Abercrombie creates, with great intention, magic out of something so ordinary like work.
This was my sixth attempt at a Joe Abercrombie book. While the other five books began explosively well, they all lost their allure by their ends. Because although his character work is some of the best I've read, I always disliked the weakness of his plots. With this book, however, I got the great Abercrombie characters with a very tight and interesting plot, alongside themes that have always interested me greatly.
The man himself is immensely likeable, and clearly has an incredible passion for the craft, revising his books over and over again, trying to tell the truest story he can. And despite his claim of consciously removing the mythical aura surrounding writing, approaching the craft with a very workmanlike approach, in being so diligent about his techniques, Abercrombie creates, with great intention, magic out of something so ordinary like work.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
3.5/5
I keep flip-flopping between a 3 and 4. Wasn’t crazy about it started (although that could be my headspace when I started this book) but the last third was excellent, and came around to the characters.
I feel like my enjoyment was negatively affected by the lack of magic and/or by “re-visiting” a world that we’re now oh-so-familiar with. It also felt like Joe was hitting familiar notes sometimes.
But still enjoyed it on the whole, and may revisit the rating in the context of the whole trilogy/series when I’m done with it.
I keep flip-flopping between a 3 and 4. Wasn’t crazy about it started (although that could be my headspace when I started this book) but the last third was excellent, and came around to the characters.
I feel like my enjoyment was negatively affected by the lack of magic and/or by “re-visiting” a world that we’re now oh-so-familiar with. It also felt like Joe was hitting familiar notes sometimes.
But still enjoyed it on the whole, and may revisit the rating in the context of the whole trilogy/series when I’m done with it.