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artemisf 's review for:

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
4.0
adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed this one! Abercrombie ramps up the stakes here, and it was really enjoyable watching everything in Dagoska unfold, struggling along with West, and traveling the world with Bayaz & crew. Abercrombie additionally has a great sense of humor, which adds needed relief in-between darker scenes. I loved how poetic yet grotesque the Bloody Nine scenes were written, and I feel like the quality of prose improved from the first book.

I do wish that we got more information within this installment, but I feel Abercrombie is saving nearly all reveals for the final book. I think the reveals here could be paced out a bit better. Finally, like The Blade Itself, I'm extremely unimpressed by how he treats female characters. Cathil and Ardee shouldn't exist just for the sake of male characters' development!!