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A review by esmayrosalyne
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
You know, it's not like I have been reading bad books lately, but I swear something about Abercrombie's storytelling just hits different. A Little Hatred is both everything I was hoping it would be and completely unlike anything I could have imagined in my wildest dreams, and for me it completely takes the First Law world to the next level.
See, I have really enjoyed all of Abercrombie's works, but I never really got the hype... until now. Honestly, it's sheer madness how my expectations for this sequel trilogy were absolutely out of this world simply because of how hyped up it is (by both others and by myself in my own mind), and yet Abercrombie just blew them all out of the water. This is the type of all-consuming reading experience that I am always on the hunt for; this is why I read!
From the very first page, I was HOOKED. If you're reading this review you're probably familiar with Abercrombie's style, so you don't need me to tell you that the character work is simply exceptional. The painfully flawed and deeply human characters with all their questionable morals and quirky idiosyncracies, the whip-smart dialogue full of witticisms and gallows humour, the utterly distinct character voices, the gut wrechingly raw human emotion, the ungodly complicated interpersonal relationships; it's all just masterful.
For me, there truly wasn't a single weak chapter/perspective in this story, and I constantly found myself torn between the desire to binge the shit out of this book and slow down as much as possible to savour every single word of it. That said, it really was the four 'main' POVS of Savine, Orso, Rikke and Leo who truly stole the show for me, and I loved going through this entire glorious trainwreck together with them.
I mean, I had a feeling I would enjoy following the children of some of the most iconic characters from the previous books, but I wasn't expecting just how much fun it was going to be. To me, this dynamic cast of characters was even more compelling to follow than any we have seen before in this world, probably because it was so (frighteningly?) easy for me to relate to all these messy twenty-something-year-olds as a messy 23-year-old myself.
But also, they are just fucking incredible characters who you can't help but root for despite (or maybe because of?) all their frustrating vices and flaws. To me, they don't just live up to their parents' iconic or notorious legacies, but they completely outshine them in the most unexpected ways. Yes, you can immediately recognize who raised them, but they also just stand so strong on their own two legs. Especially Savine... I don't know if I want to be this woman, want to be kissed by this woman or run the fuck away from this woman, but I adore her with all my heart.
Oh and the romantic shenanigans and sexual tension? I ATE IT UP!! I truly never knew Abercrombie could tug on my heartstrings so much, but here we are. But then I also hate him (and myself?) for the fact that I was rooting so damn hard for one of the most twisted dynamics ever (iykyk)... WHY?! HOW?! The feels were feeling, in all the best and worst ways, and I was living for it.
And as if all that wasn't enough, we also get an actually gripping plot to go along with this morbidly fascinating character study. I mean, I have never been a fan of war and/or rebellion stories and I truly should not have given a single flying fuck about watching a society's struggles due to industrialisation, but count on Abercrombie to make me care. The tension just bleeds off every single page, and it's crazy how both the battles of swords and the battles of wits had my heart in my throat and my blood pumping like crazy.
What's more, I loved how despite all the technological advancement in this world,A Little Hatred somehow felt the most 'fantasy' of all the First Law books. Rikke's mystical visions added a nice little dash of magic to the story, and I really liked how Abercrombie played around with the prophecy trope through her perspective. I am absolutely buzzing with theories, and none of them bode well for any of these characters; bring on the emotional turmoil please!
Lastly, I have to say that I am very glad I read this physically. Don't get me wrong, Steven Pacey is a master at his craft, but I personally tend to zone out if I am exclusively listening to these books and that is just a shame. There is so much rich nuance and clever subtext to Abercrombie's writing, and the entire book is just filled with the most killer one-liners that just hit oh so hard; my highlights and annotations here are out of control, and I love that for me.
If you hadn't already guessed from this absolute hyperbole avalanche, I fucking loved A Little Hatred. This is now not just my favourite book by Abercrombie, but I think it is objectively his best work yet. And you know what, I have a feeling that it's not going to hold the crown for long, because with the diabolical way this left off, I have no doubts that the rest of The Age of Madness is going to somehow, impossibly, be even better. Book 2, here I come!!
See, I have really enjoyed all of Abercrombie's works, but I never really got the hype... until now. Honestly, it's sheer madness how my expectations for this sequel trilogy were absolutely out of this world simply because of how hyped up it is (by both others and by myself in my own mind), and yet Abercrombie just blew them all out of the water. This is the type of all-consuming reading experience that I am always on the hunt for; this is why I read!
From the very first page, I was HOOKED. If you're reading this review you're probably familiar with Abercrombie's style, so you don't need me to tell you that the character work is simply exceptional. The painfully flawed and deeply human characters with all their questionable morals and quirky idiosyncracies, the whip-smart dialogue full of witticisms and gallows humour, the utterly distinct character voices, the gut wrechingly raw human emotion, the ungodly complicated interpersonal relationships; it's all just masterful.
For me, there truly wasn't a single weak chapter/perspective in this story, and I constantly found myself torn between the desire to binge the shit out of this book and slow down as much as possible to savour every single word of it. That said, it really was the four 'main' POVS of Savine, Orso, Rikke and Leo who truly stole the show for me, and I loved going through this entire glorious trainwreck together with them.
I mean, I had a feeling I would enjoy following the children of some of the most iconic characters from the previous books, but I wasn't expecting just how much fun it was going to be. To me, this dynamic cast of characters was even more compelling to follow than any we have seen before in this world, probably because it was so (frighteningly?) easy for me to relate to all these messy twenty-something-year-olds as a messy 23-year-old myself.
But also, they are just fucking incredible characters who you can't help but root for despite (or maybe because of?) all their frustrating vices and flaws. To me, they don't just live up to their parents' iconic or notorious legacies, but they completely outshine them in the most unexpected ways. Yes, you can immediately recognize who raised them, but they also just stand so strong on their own two legs. Especially Savine... I don't know if I want to be this woman, want to be kissed by this woman or run the fuck away from this woman, but I adore her with all my heart.
Oh and the romantic shenanigans and sexual tension? I ATE IT UP!! I truly never knew Abercrombie could tug on my heartstrings so much, but here we are. But then I also hate him (and myself?) for the fact that I was rooting so damn hard for one of the most twisted dynamics ever (iykyk)... WHY?! HOW?! The feels were feeling, in all the best and worst ways, and I was living for it.
And as if all that wasn't enough, we also get an actually gripping plot to go along with this morbidly fascinating character study. I mean, I have never been a fan of war and/or rebellion stories and I truly should not have given a single flying fuck about watching a society's struggles due to industrialisation, but count on Abercrombie to make me care. The tension just bleeds off every single page, and it's crazy how both the battles of swords and the battles of wits had my heart in my throat and my blood pumping like crazy.
What's more, I loved how despite all the technological advancement in this world,A Little Hatred somehow felt the most 'fantasy' of all the First Law books. Rikke's mystical visions added a nice little dash of magic to the story, and I really liked how Abercrombie played around with the prophecy trope through her perspective. I am absolutely buzzing with theories, and none of them bode well for any of these characters; bring on the emotional turmoil please!
Lastly, I have to say that I am very glad I read this physically. Don't get me wrong, Steven Pacey is a master at his craft, but I personally tend to zone out if I am exclusively listening to these books and that is just a shame. There is so much rich nuance and clever subtext to Abercrombie's writing, and the entire book is just filled with the most killer one-liners that just hit oh so hard; my highlights and annotations here are out of control, and I love that for me.
If you hadn't already guessed from this absolute hyperbole avalanche, I fucking loved A Little Hatred. This is now not just my favourite book by Abercrombie, but I think it is objectively his best work yet. And you know what, I have a feeling that it's not going to hold the crown for long, because with the diabolical way this left off, I have no doubts that the rest of The Age of Madness is going to somehow, impossibly, be even better. Book 2, here I come!!