Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
I really enjoy these books. Even knowing what spoilers I've read about how this series ends, I'm enjoying it enough that I'm okay with that.
I enjoyed this a ton. The characters we met in the first book are back and they are outstanding. Some are their same, fabulous selves while others experience significant growth and change. The plot and writing is fascinating. I found it constantly surprising me with the directions events went in. This has a quality to it that feels so realistic and rich. I am eager to read the next and final book.
The build up in the first book really seemed to pay off in the second installment. There was a palpable feeling of dread as West tried to dissuade the Prince from mounting an attack against the Northmen. Once it failed, and West murdered him in a rage, I realized I was reading a fantastic book. Glokta defending against the Gurkish in the South was another hopeless situation that I couldn't tear myself away from. The fact that he held out so long, and only needed to sell himself to an evil banking guild to do it, was very satisfying. The fight where Logen and Ferro fended off a dozen or so enemies out in the west was extremely well written, and even though Jezal was injured he received some much needed character growth. Byaz's journey ended up being for nothing but it was an exciting journey anyways.
The first book was great. This book is just disappointing.
Spoiler
Lots of stuff happens, some people mature, some people hookup, some people die but the story doesn't progress. Magi and group go on a quest and find nothing. Major goes to war, meets the Northmen and others some of whom die. Inquisitor loses faraway meaningless city and accepts payment for future service.
The First Law series is dark, gritty, and gripping. The characters are intense and in your face. The only thing that falls short is the plot. There are three main plots in this book: traveling to the edge of the world, fighting the northmen, and Glotka. Personally, I love Glotka and could read about him doing just about anything, so I'm extremely happy with that third of the book. I'm not as thrilled with the northmen war and I have a hard time stomaching an entire plot based solely on traveling. I think the third installment of this series will be more promising. The Blade Itself felt like an introduction, and Before They Are Hanged felt like more of an introduction. Sure, events were occurring, but I didn't get a feel for their importance and urgency. People were dying, cities were falling, and all I could think was when are they going to get the magic stone and blow a bunch of stuff up. I have to say though, the characters are great. The characters that annoyed you in the first book will surprise you in this book, and the characters that you loved in the first book may annoy you in this book. Overall, this series is very unique and I would highly recommend it. I eagerly await the third installment.
Rich characters!!!
Great adventure, an unexpected fellowship, and such original characters. I loved reading this story so much. Sad to read the next one since it will be the last but super excited for it!
Great adventure, an unexpected fellowship, and such original characters. I loved reading this story so much. Sad to read the next one since it will be the last but super excited for it!
Exactly what I expected from this series. Where “the blade itself” was the ready set go, “before they are hanged” is two race cars blaring into action and flying down the drag strip. Abercrombie has an amazing talent at weaving three utterly captivating stories with real characters that you genuinely care about simultaneously. All the while weaving them together with gripping interconenctive tissue building the stakes of every action as you read. I am so happy I stuck around and I’m so excited for book 3.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Before They are Hanged is an outstanding second book in the First Law Trilogy. I absolutely adored the Blade Itself and this book certainly didn’t disappoint when it came to the followup of the story. For my review of this book I’m going to try using the CAWPILE system to give it as fair of a rating as possible while also trying out a new critical reading rating system.
Characters - 8.5
The characters in this book were absolutely the shining stars of the whole story, I was also incredibly impressed with how each of the characters developed over the course of this bookSpecifically Luthar, Glouchter, and West I think both of these characters went through pretty outstanding changes through the course of this book based on the challenges they faced and came out the other side a little wiser and a little more broken. As for the characters who didn’t really change much in this book I.e. Logan, Biaz, Fero I still very much enjoyed the sections where they were given chances to shine. I won’t say much about Kwai, the navigator and other supporting characters because honestly they were pretty boring and got wildly overshadowed by the far more interesting main characters.
Atmosphere/Setting - 9
The setting of this book expands the pretty narrow settings of the last book and shows a vast swath of the world that builds it’s history and it’s Intrigue (Which I feel was the whole point of the book / the journey of 9-fingers and the rest of the gang). The Atmosphere of the North was abysmal and horrid, showing the logistics of a long drawn out conflict while Gurkle was it’s opposite but not out of oppressiveness since it was brutal and fantastic as Joe Abercrombie usually is!
Writing Style - 7
I very much enjoyed the writing style of Joe Abercrombie, he has a tendency to change his style based on the character perspective he’s writing from which I deeply enjoyed. That being said the style and general narrativeness of the book is nothing revolutionary but kept me wrapped up the whole time.
Plot - 9
The plot of this book is yet another standout. Each section of the story (Travel Crew, The North, Gurkle) are all fantastic leading into what I assume to be the lead up to the final book of the trilogy with thedeath of the remaining crowned prince the plot had me on my toes the whole time and generated quite a bit of tension for each of the characters as they had to deal with shitty situation after shitty situation.
Intrigue - 6
I’d say that the intrigue of this book is really quite good though not incredible! This book was the lead up to book three (I’ll call it the main intrigue book). A lot of the mystery involved in Gurkle especially was explained away very quickly by Biaz in other chapters so I was never quite set to ruminate on what was happening. This being said I’m very curious about the Bank situation with Glouchter and the “who done it” murder mystery of the other crowned prince.
Logic/Relationships - 4
The relationships between characters in the book are not “weak” by any means however I think where this book really makes strides is in the solitude of its characters. For example the relationship between 9-fingers and Ferro is one that I really never had any kind of stake in even when she was “thinking” about going with him (honestly that was a super boring thing to add at the end of the book) however I much preferred West / Glouchter’s stories as they trialed with adversity, the weight of the world on their shoulders effectively on their own.
Enjoyment - 8
Much like the first book I very much enjoyed this book! I can tell that Joe is not afraid to kill off any of his characters which adds a level of tension that I very much enjoy. No-one feels safe and I love it. Also the dark nature and subject matter of the book, especially getting into the details of war was extremely interesting and engaging. Very excited to read the last book in the series but I also thoroughly enjoyed this addition.
Characters - 8.5
The characters in this book were absolutely the shining stars of the whole story, I was also incredibly impressed with how each of the characters developed over the course of this book
Atmosphere/Setting - 9
The setting of this book expands the pretty narrow settings of the last book and shows a vast swath of the world that builds it’s history and it’s Intrigue (Which I feel was the whole point of the book / the journey of 9-fingers and the rest of the gang). The Atmosphere of the North was abysmal and horrid, showing the logistics of a long drawn out conflict while Gurkle was it’s opposite but not out of oppressiveness since it was brutal and fantastic as Joe Abercrombie usually is!
Writing Style - 7
I very much enjoyed the writing style of Joe Abercrombie, he has a tendency to change his style based on the character perspective he’s writing from which I deeply enjoyed. That being said the style and general narrativeness of the book is nothing revolutionary but kept me wrapped up the whole time.
Plot - 9
The plot of this book is yet another standout. Each section of the story (Travel Crew, The North, Gurkle) are all fantastic leading into what I assume to be the lead up to the final book of the trilogy with the
Intrigue - 6
I’d say that the intrigue of this book is really quite good though not incredible! This book was the lead up to book three (I’ll call it the main intrigue book). A lot of the mystery involved in Gurkle especially was explained away very quickly by Biaz in other chapters so I was never quite set to ruminate on what was happening. This being said I’m very curious about the Bank situation with Glouchter and the “who done it” murder mystery of the other crowned prince.
Logic/Relationships - 4
The relationships between characters in the book are not “weak” by any means however I think where this book really makes strides is in the solitude of its characters. For example the relationship between 9-fingers and Ferro is one that I really never had any kind of stake in even when she was “thinking” about going with him (honestly that was a super boring thing to add at the end of the book) however I much preferred West / Glouchter’s stories as they trialed with adversity, the weight of the world on their shoulders effectively on their own.
Enjoyment - 8
Much like the first book I very much enjoyed this book! I can tell that Joe is not afraid to kill off any of his characters which adds a level of tension that I very much enjoy. No-one feels safe and I love it. Also the dark nature and subject matter of the book, especially getting into the details of war was extremely interesting and engaging. Very excited to read the last book in the series but I also thoroughly enjoyed this addition.
En comparación con el primero mejora: aprovecha más a los personajes, la historia se vuelve mucho más interesante, usa más de esos maravillosos combates. Una pasada de libro que tiene pinta de que no va a ser sino mejorar en su última entrega.