Reviews

Say one thing about this book, it's a 5 star read. Say another thing...it's not a 5 star fantasy series. This is big on character and I enjoyed reading ut hugely but there's something slightly lacking in the world building that I can't put my finger on. It's not even that it lacks originality although at times it does feel a little obvious in some of its medieval and earlier European parallels but there's a lot of clever ideas. It's just there isn't a sense of there being a huge world out there you're missing somehow. We are here with the characters always.

Anyway worth a read and you should enjoy it hugely if you love fantasy but if I was asked to recommend a fantasy series to someone I wouldn't start here I guess.

airacobra952's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

ryan_reads_alot's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

tombon3's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

chrisb913's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I could not put the book down. I loved the characters (everyone except Jezal) with Logen being my favorite pov and Glokta being a very close second. I wish there had been a few more female characters introduced and portrayed, as well as more of the pov of Ferro (but the feminine rage in her chapters was fantastic and I cannot wait for more). Honestly my only complaint was the enormous amount of misogyny prevelant in the book along with the unnecessary fatphobia.

Content Warnings

cbalbera's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

More...