A review by xkrow
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

4.0

Joe did it again. He gave me some of the worst characters I've ever read, killers and liars and cowards and hypocrites, and made me like each and every one of them. Give this man a medal. I'm still working on my overall thoughts on Abercrombie's approach and themes, but one thread that stood out to me here was one of addiction and obsession. There are so many characters here that are obsessed with something - Cosca and booze, Morveer and poisons, Friendly and numbers, etc. - and it gives a sense that they're all using them to cope in some manner with the world around them, trying to make sense of it however they can. Will have to think on it more to give better thoughts but it was something I noticed. 

In terms of the story, I genuinely believe that it is too long. If it were even 80% of its currently length, I think I'd like it even more-it just gets super repetitive at times, though Abercrombie does try to keep it fresh and change things up throughout.