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h0m3r's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
ena0109's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cynicgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Joe Abercrombie is my favourite author. His books just keep getting better and better. His characters are fully realised, and the story excellent. In his early books, he wasn’t quite so strong with his female cast, but now Savine and Rikke are among my favourites. The ladies are as callous, vicious, calculating and power hungry as the men!
No one writes battle scenes like JA. You are right there beside the fighters. Wading in blood, mud and sh*t. Feeling the terror, the rage and the confusion. Battle is chaos, there are no heroes (although Leo does his best to live up to the hype), only those who survive and those who don’t.
Abercrombie’s books are very much in the moment. I’m so busy enjoying each page, that despite having the omnipresent POV, I am never left thinking about the next page, only the current one. As such the reveal at the end of the book had me saying, “No way!”, closely followed by, “Of course!” As all the pieces fell neatly into place.
I wont write about the story, other than to say its enjoyable, descriptive, believable and when reading this book I was fully immersed in the world and its people. It’s character driven and there are SO MANY good characters. The world is unforgiving and dark, but not without wit and humour. Dialogue continues to be Abercrombie’s strong suit.
Go read it.
No one writes battle scenes like JA. You are right there beside the fighters. Wading in blood, mud and sh*t. Feeling the terror, the rage and the confusion. Battle is chaos, there are no heroes (although Leo does his best to live up to the hype), only those who survive and those who don’t.
Abercrombie’s books are very much in the moment. I’m so busy enjoying each page, that despite having the omnipresent POV, I am never left thinking about the next page, only the current one. As such the reveal at the end of the book had me saying, “No way!”, closely followed by, “Of course!” As all the pieces fell neatly into place.
I wont write about the story, other than to say its enjoyable, descriptive, believable and when reading this book I was fully immersed in the world and its people. It’s character driven and there are SO MANY good characters. The world is unforgiving and dark, but not without wit and humour. Dialogue continues to be Abercrombie’s strong suit.
Go read it.
dromwald's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant stuff! Joe Abercrombie's appeal for me is in his superb world-building and his unforgettable cast of characters. There is not a black or white character amongst them; rather they end up being every shade of grey imaginable. He is often spot on in his creation of those same characters motivations and whilst there are characters that you will instantly love or hate for the most part the characters are very real, neither all good or all bad just very human. Didn't see the end coming either even though the reveal made perfect sense once I did.
jakelewis_23_'s review against another edition
5.0
‘You three are quite the jesters, ain’t you?’ ‘Have a smile at breakfast,’ droned Shivers, stony-faced, ‘you’ll be shitting joy by lunch.’
I LOVED this book! GREAT characters, highlights for me being Orso, Rikke and Clover absolutely amazing whenever they were on the page! Side note, Leo is such an idiot! Great continuation from book 1 and I am so excited to get to book 3 very soon
‘The Dogman’s daughter has the Long Eye,’ said Stour, and a few of his warriors muttered and grumbled unhappily. ‘I have to fight fire with fire.’ ‘That’ll win you naught but ashes,’ said Calder.
If you are hoping it will keep you safe from all life’s axes, you will be disappointed. But then it is the fate of hope to end in disappointment, as it is the fate of light to end in darkness and life in death. They are still worth something while they last.’
I LOVED this book! GREAT characters, highlights for me being Orso, Rikke and Clover absolutely amazing whenever they were on the page! Side note, Leo is such an idiot! Great continuation from book 1 and I am so excited to get to book 3 very soon
‘The Dogman’s daughter has the Long Eye,’ said Stour, and a few of his warriors muttered and grumbled unhappily. ‘I have to fight fire with fire.’ ‘That’ll win you naught but ashes,’ said Calder.
If you are hoping it will keep you safe from all life’s axes, you will be disappointed. But then it is the fate of hope to end in disappointment, as it is the fate of light to end in darkness and life in death. They are still worth something while they last.’
moonsea97's review against another edition
5.0
Story: 1
Characters: 1
Pacing: 1
Writing: 1
Impact: 1
OVERALL: 5/5 (A)
Characters: 1
Pacing: 1
Writing: 1
Impact: 1
OVERALL: 5/5 (A)
jquellllin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.75
adammtucker's review against another edition
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
5.0
Another outstanding entry from Joe Abercrombie filled with grimdark character work at its finest and some of the best battle sequences since The Heroes, his standalone. I really enjoyed the Industrial Revolution meets French Revolution vibe of this second entry in the Age of Madness, and am already itching to pick up the final entry in the trilogy. A must-read for Abercrombie fans.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
ondrykselecky's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5