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kofireads29's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 stars. One of Joe Abercrombies best. Can't wait to complete the series
emacap_137's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
ezrasupremacy's review against another edition
rating tbd
i read the entire the first law trilogy just to get to this because i promised there’d be gay people, and by God am i thankful that my unquenchable thirst for gay characters forced me to face one of my biggest reading fears — actual “grown up” fantasy.
now here’s to the most important question: did i get the gay i was promised?
somewhat!
i knew from previous research that in book one i’d get at most hints, so my expectations were actually lower than they had to be, because what i did get was internalised homophobia and unrequited love. yum!
now to the things most fantasy readers would likely consider more significant:
this book is largely a set up for the rest of the trilogy, which is usual and fine, even if it took me a while to find my enthusiasm to read this (when i say “took me a while” i mean a few hours as i was reading, since i finished nearly 85% of it in one go today). once i had found that enthusiasm and grown some sort of connection to the characters though, i was all the way in.
i did significantly miss (and prefer) the characters in the the first law trilogy, mostly because there were less spoiled brats in it, but the spoiledness of the brats was almost made up for with the suffering they went through. only almost, though, i still dislike some of them for their views — which is exactly the point, and therefore wonderfully done. incredible setup for future character growth.
also, as someone who did his history a levels on the industrial revolution, this book was great fun, and i loved seeing all the parallels between our history and their current state.
overall i enjoyed this less than i had hoped but about as much as i needed to enjoy the first book in a new series, and obviously i will be starting the next book asap.
i read the entire the first law trilogy just to get to this because i promised there’d be gay people, and by God am i thankful that my unquenchable thirst for gay characters forced me to face one of my biggest reading fears — actual “grown up” fantasy.
now here’s to the most important question: did i get the gay i was promised?
somewhat!
i knew from previous research that in book one i’d get at most hints, so my expectations were actually lower than they had to be, because what i did get was internalised homophobia and unrequited love. yum!
now to the things most fantasy readers would likely consider more significant:
this book is largely a set up for the rest of the trilogy, which is usual and fine, even if it took me a while to find my enthusiasm to read this (when i say “took me a while” i mean a few hours as i was reading, since i finished nearly 85% of it in one go today). once i had found that enthusiasm and grown some sort of connection to the characters though, i was all the way in.
i did significantly miss (and prefer) the characters in the the first law trilogy, mostly because there were less spoiled brats in it, but the spoiledness of the brats was almost made up for with the suffering they went through. only almost, though, i still dislike some of them for their views — which is exactly the point, and therefore wonderfully done. incredible setup for future character growth.
also, as someone who did his history a levels on the industrial revolution, this book was great fun, and i loved seeing all the parallels between our history and their current state.
overall i enjoyed this less than i had hoped but about as much as i needed to enjoy the first book in a new series, and obviously i will be starting the next book asap.
fedex777's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.75
chipsandcoffee's review against another edition
5.0
WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. I'm in pain.
ladybaela's review against another edition
4.0
A great first entry into a new trilogy in the First Law world.
Still curious as to the whereabouts of certain characters from the original series but I’m liking the newest generation too.
Looking forward to the next one.
Still curious as to the whereabouts of certain characters from the original series but I’m liking the newest generation too.
Looking forward to the next one.
badayka's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
+ Juggling a new cast of characters in an established universe, where most of them are some kind of offspring of well-established characters from the previous book is a hard one to get right, but Abercrombie managed it perfectly. You can really see how the children have inherited or have had traits inbued into them by their parents, while still having their own unique personalities. None of the new characters felt like they were just a new iteration of something we've seen before.
+ It's again one of those books, where at first glance it doesn't feel like there is much plot to it, but the foreshadowing is quite strong, making me want to dive into the remaining two books asap, to see how it'll all unfold
+ What's interesting to me is that in this book, the main characters do not seem as awful from the get-go, as in the first trilogy. Pretty much all of them are quite lovable, making me wonder how they're going to be twisted by the end. Abercrombie tends to introduce characters as morally good or bad, but them twists your perception of them, so in the end they're all different shades of gray. I'm interested to see what'll happen to this cast.
+ It's again one of those books, where at first glance it doesn't feel like there is much plot to it, but the foreshadowing is quite strong, making me want to dive into the remaining two books asap, to see how it'll all unfold
+ What's interesting to me is that in this book, the main characters do not seem as awful from the get-go, as in the first trilogy. Pretty much all of them are quite lovable, making me wonder how they're going to be twisted by the end. Abercrombie tends to introduce characters as morally good or bad, but them twists your perception of them, so in the end they're all different shades of gray. I'm interested to see what'll happen to this cast.
magretfume's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
5.0
lex24's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
3.75
This book is superbly written, featuring vivid characters and a unique balance of elegant, thought-provoking prose with a humorous and often crass tone. As a first-time reader of Joe Abercrombie, I found myself struggling to keep track of all the characters and their allegiances, which dampened the impact of the ending. However, this is likely not an issue for readers already familiar with the world building and cast.