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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
It’s just not my favorite world, but can’t argue it’s still engaging as hell!
First Law Trilogy. The achievements have been collected, the characters have grown and the bloody destruction continues. Although this is technically a new series, I do believe that your reading enjoyment will be enriched by reading the First Law Trilogy. The backstories and journeys will be far more satisfying if you do so. A Little Hatred is like nothing I have read before, I do think that it even surpasses his fantastic first law series – which Is saying something because I loved it! Abercrombie has settled into his writing, it flows exquisitely, character development is like honey, his craft has been mastered.
A Little Hatred has been moved forward from a time of magic to the industrial revolution. Magic has lost its day in the circle of the world and the time for machines is at large. They say the advancement of technology is a good thing, but not everyone sees it that way. The workers are being pushed out in favour of a machine that can do that of a man in less time. It’s an investment, a no-brainer, especially for someone like Savine Dan Glockta, where her reputation precedes her. She’s canny, brutal with a talent for extracting as much money from people as she can whilst increasing the stretch in her purse.
“Aye, well, we all play the cards we’re dealt.”
“Some of us do. Some of us kill men with better cards and play theirs instead.”
A Little Hatred takes place around 30 years after the events in the Last Argument of Kings. Everything has changed. The time for innovation and design is upon them. Although the playbook may have changed the elements of the First Law Series are still there to reel us in. A game of political intrigue and bloody wars are still on the horizon awaiting its moment to strike once again. We are introduced to some new characters (Orzo, the crown prince, Rikke, the Dogman’s daughter, and Savine Dan Glockta, Sand Dan Glockta’s Daughter) and some old favourites, I had a warm sensation at having the POV of Glockta back in our midst, how I had missed that crippled old bastard! Abercrombie knows how to examine the human condition with aspects of manipulation, lies, and deceit hiding in every corner.
Abercrombie knows how to write the female point of view incredibly well. Savine Dan Glockta along with Rikke are my favourite characters in this new series. Savine is a guileless and brutal woman in business (she has to be), what she wants, is what she gets. BUT, I love the spunkiness of her character, she’s a woman in a man’s world, and she’s nothing if not tenacious, (look at who her father is after all).
“Funny how, whenever men talked about freedom, they never really meant for the women”
The writing as always is out of this world. We have a dark world that is held up with sprinklings of hilarity, friendships, and war. His vivid battle scenes appear to be written in HD, I can always find myself transported into the middle of an Abercrombie-directed battle scene. I’m thrown a shield and told to get on with it. It’s full of mayhem and destruction and the battle between the rich and the poor continues and the myth and legend of warriors gone by continues. The real architect of the mayhem is still around and is still being a giant prick, like always.
“When one man knowingly kills another, they call it murder! When society causes the deaths of thousands, they shrug and call it a fact of life.”
A Little Hatred has been moved forward from a time of magic to the industrial revolution. Magic has lost its day in the circle of the world and the time for machines is at large. They say the advancement of technology is a good thing, but not everyone sees it that way. The workers are being pushed out in favour of a machine that can do that of a man in less time. It’s an investment, a no-brainer, especially for someone like Savine Dan Glockta, where her reputation precedes her. She’s canny, brutal with a talent for extracting as much money from people as she can whilst increasing the stretch in her purse.
“Aye, well, we all play the cards we’re dealt.”
“Some of us do. Some of us kill men with better cards and play theirs instead.”
A Little Hatred takes place around 30 years after the events in the Last Argument of Kings. Everything has changed. The time for innovation and design is upon them. Although the playbook may have changed the elements of the First Law Series are still there to reel us in. A game of political intrigue and bloody wars are still on the horizon awaiting its moment to strike once again. We are introduced to some new characters (Orzo, the crown prince, Rikke, the Dogman’s daughter, and Savine Dan Glockta, Sand Dan Glockta’s Daughter) and some old favourites, I had a warm sensation at having the POV of Glockta back in our midst, how I had missed that crippled old bastard! Abercrombie knows how to examine the human condition with aspects of manipulation, lies, and deceit hiding in every corner.
Abercrombie knows how to write the female point of view incredibly well. Savine Dan Glockta along with Rikke are my favourite characters in this new series. Savine is a guileless and brutal woman in business (she has to be), what she wants, is what she gets. BUT, I love the spunkiness of her character, she’s a woman in a man’s world, and she’s nothing if not tenacious, (look at who her father is after all).
“Funny how, whenever men talked about freedom, they never really meant for the women”
The writing as always is out of this world. We have a dark world that is held up with sprinklings of hilarity, friendships, and war. His vivid battle scenes appear to be written in HD, I can always find myself transported into the middle of an Abercrombie-directed battle scene. I’m thrown a shield and told to get on with it. It’s full of mayhem and destruction and the battle between the rich and the poor continues and the myth and legend of warriors gone by continues. The real architect of the mayhem is still around and is still being a giant prick, like always.
“When one man knowingly kills another, they call it murder! When society causes the deaths of thousands, they shrug and call it a fact of life.”
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Leaves you hungry for more! Write like a blitz, Lord Grimdark, we need to know more!
adventurous
dark
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
4.75/5.00
"Mother." He put one hand gently on her shoulder. "Wars may be won by the clever, but battles have to be fought by the brave. It's time."
A Little Hatred is Joe Abercrombie's best promise. It is as close to perfect as a opening act of a series can possibly be. Did you think that you've seen character tropes before? Do you think you cannot be surprised ? Did you think Grimdark books could not be more funny ? A Little Hatred is a conclusive defiance in the face of these high expectations. Every page, every chapter, every comment in this book is dripping with humor and witticism. I feel that I have watched Joe's slow ascent to Terry Pratchett's prose and this book is the final minutes of the journey. Never before have I laughed uncontrollably, momentarily losing control of my car in some chapters. Yes, I listened to this book. Yes, the audiobook is miles better. Please don't read this book, listen to it. It is a masterpiece. Steven Pacey is a god.
So many themes layered in this story! The legacy of past heroes and "heroes", the pyramid of greed in humanity, the failure of self in good men, the nature of violent men, the blending of cultures, society and war, technology and livelihood, economy and life, love and heartbreak, the mistakes of mankind.
"Because that is the nature of people. And their little more must be taken from someone else, and that someone else will be less than delighted. One cannot eliminate unhappiness anymore than one can eliminate darkness. The goal of government, you see," and the Arch Lector prodded at the air with his bony forefinger, "is to load the unhappiness on to those least able to make you suffer for it."
Rikke had never been able to understand why you would care a shit about who someone you'd never even met lay with. How few problems do you need to have before you count that among 'em?
How do I begin to describe the character work? Joe has a way of making me care so deeply for so many characters. Tropes unseen in fantasy, stories of people we don't often hear about, portrayed to perfection. Orso wins the round as the best character work. Savine becomes the most despicable character, and Leo the most lovable. I am so invested. Didn't feel this way about characters since the first law trilogy.
World building takes a back seat in Joe's writing as it usually does. I did enjoy so much of what we got in this book, but I do yearn for more. Where is Gurkul, where is Javra, where is Styria and Starikland, the Near and Far Country ? As an opening act, I can forgive the myopic scope of the story, but I most certainly want the epic tale spanning nations in this trilogy. If the trilogy is vast and spanning nations, then the idea of narrowing the scope in the opening act is an excellent narrative technique that many stories have handled before, and Joe does this to perfection.
Finally, the plot is engaging, the book is a page turner and completely entertaining. Not the greatest plot, but then again, this is the first act.
"Now a useless man can render a useful man useless wheeling him around. There's progress, eh?"