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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
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
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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:
Complicated
"It was a bad day for men, all in all, and a good one for the ground. Always the way, after a battle...
Two sets of hopes Dogman had put in the mud—some hopes for the future, and some hopes from the past. All done now, and would never come to nothing, and they left an aching hole in him. Always the way, after a battle. Hopes in the mud."
I can see why the First Law isn't for everyone. It's a very slow burn, but it's worth getting to know these characters individually. Glotka, Logen, Jezzel, Ferro, Dogman, and West are all extremely compelling even (or especially) at their worst.
Something about Joe Abercrombie's writing is magical. The worldbuilding, the pacing, the prose, it all just works. I've read the first two books in the series back to back and I'm jumping right into the third, it's that serious!!!
Two sets of hopes Dogman had put in the mud—some hopes for the future, and some hopes from the past. All done now, and would never come to nothing, and they left an aching hole in him. Always the way, after a battle. Hopes in the mud."
I can see why the First Law isn't for everyone. It's a very slow burn, but it's worth getting to know these characters individually. Glotka, Logen, Jezzel, Ferro, Dogman, and West are all extremely compelling even (or especially) at their worst.
Something about Joe Abercrombie's writing is magical. The worldbuilding, the pacing, the prose, it all just works. I've read the first two books in the series back to back and I'm jumping right into the third, it's that serious!!!
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The second book in the First Law trilogy, continues what I enjoyed about the first book: a series of interconnecting stories about interesting characters in a grim and brutal fantasy world. It is odd that, 1000+ pages into this series, I'm not sure I could tell you what it's about -- an empire is at war against two other empires, and there's some old wizard guy who says he's going to fix things, but mostly the story is more focused on the movement of the pawns than the status of the chess match. I'm looking forward to reading the third book in the series later this summer.
Really simply, it's an amazing book and an amazing sequel. It's twisted, it's dark, and it's also a lot of fun. It's dark in a way that doesn't make you depressed, moreso just intrigued by all the complex characters being shaped by the world around them, where their options are limited by the unfortunate state of their world. The world building is great in this one, it really fleshes out the world and its history, using the foundation that the first book gave it. There's such a large mix of things going on that I'm certain I probably missed a ton of things but I doubt anyone who reads this would be overwhelmed, it's really entertaining switching between the different views and getting insight into the world and the characters. Excellent characters, excellent plot and excellent dialogue where you really are invested into what each character is saying. There really is not many holes in the book, and the very few that there are are not worth mentioning. Every chapter, I just loved learning more about the circle of the world, I loved learning more about side characters such as Eider, Cosca, Vitari, Bayaz and the Mages etc. No main character is boring. I admit, I was a bit iffy regarding Ferro in the first book but she really grew on me here. Jezal growing as a character throughout, more light being shined on Glokta and his motivations, understanding more about Logen's reasoning and how his long years of fighting have shaped him, Dogman trying to imitate Logen despite us constantly seeing how Logen doubts the advice that he gave to Dogman, and West grappling with trying to be a good man. And in the end, their paths are shaped by uncertainty, strange alliances and disappointment, but you always just want to know what is going to happen with them next. Easily a 5/5, no book series (aside from discworld) has gripped me like this in a long time.