Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Little Hatred

An excellent start to a new trilogy, with riveting characters, an eventful plot, and a well-maintained pace. Abercrombie seems to be improving with each installment, and I was impressed to see how everything continued to feel fresh and exciting. However, I wasn't exactly blown away by certain story moments this time, since it's still setting up things and some of them simply didn't grab me much. I felt like he rather overused the POV switch this time as well, which didn't seem to possess the same charm anymore. But at the end of the day, it was a page-turner I really enjoyed, with a strong ending that makes you wanna jump into the next book immediately. For me, the highlights undoubtedly lie in the characters and their interactions with each other, even if I don't love them like the OG cast yet.

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ripxw's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced

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

5.0

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embee007's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

(5 stars for audio, as per usual)

War all the time...
Oh, sorry, not a quote from this book or series, although it could be.

& now the children are at it...The children of all the warriors & whiners from the previous books are now playing at war, or politics, & creating their own secrets, & battling with swords & whining/wining, or doing the real work while the fighting happens, & uncovering their parents secrets...

Most of their parents are still alive, most are taking a back seat to the younger generation, & we see how they handle this.

I've heard so much about Savine when people talk about "morally grey female characters done right" & "women written well by men" that my expectations were high for her, & I'm seriously disappointed that no one told me about Rikka - she's the standout character for me so far.

I accidentally skipped Sharp Edges? Ends? But I don't feel like I'm missing any information. I'll get back to it.

“Who comes up with these ridiculous names?” “Writers, I daresay."

"That’s what growing up is, maybe. Realising what a fucking arse you’ve been."

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hedyharper's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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adammtucker's review

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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

4.75

Joe Abercombie is back with an excellent take on fantasy meets the Industrial Revolution with all the names and characters you've grown to live with First Law, but the next generation! A fantastic opening book to the Age of Madness trilogy that tees up lovable and interesting character and starts more quickly than you might be accustomed to with Abercrombie. I liked this one more than The Blade Itself which is high praise as an outstanding debut, this is one not to miss. Gritty, fast-paced, and the usual brand of heartachingly sad and funny grimdark you know and love.

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