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adwaitkulkarni 's review for:
Before They Are Hanged
by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-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
Summary:
After a strong introduction to some of the best characters in fantasy genre, Joe Abercrombie returns with his 2nd book in the First Law Series in which Bayaz the First of Magi takes a ragtag group to the edge of the world where they discover something that'll leave huge impact on their lives and everyone's favourite Sherlock, Mr. San Dan Glokta tries his best to save the falling city while trying to cope with his failing life.
What I liked:
1) The Character Work: Stating the obvious. It's what this series and the author is known for. But it is so well done that I have to mention it. The scope of storytelling increases in this book with the readers getting 6 characters' pov. It is fascinating to see how the author builds on a strong groundwork laid down in the previous book.
2) Chemistry between the ragtag group: I really enjoyed the love and hate relationship between the group of characters that Bayaz takes with him for exploration. The interaction between Bayaz-Luthar-Logen-Ferrow and Longfoot makes their journey quite a fun.
3) San Dan Glokta: One of the finest characters ever written! San Dan Glokta and his sarcasm, his continuous pondering of his existence, his questioning of the work that he's doing and his constant fear of the most dangerous villain in his life - The stairs have all turned him into an iconic character!
4) The Northmen: Dogman, Threetrees and co. have been given more time in this book. I enjoyed their group, the role they played for the Union, how all of it panned out and the dynamic between them and West.
5) Action galore: After a slow start to the series, this book sees lots of battle scenes, fights and overall bloodloss making it an action packed read.
What I didn't like:
1) Exploration: The journey that Bayaz and co. go on essentially take them out of the main storyline for almost the whole book. It feels like the author decide to take that route to build the world and the characters for a payoff that might come in the final book. The problem is that when most of the main characters are not at the scene where the actual story is progressing then it reduces the interest and impact of that that story.
Conclusion:
Before they are hanged is a solid second book in the first law series. It builds on the strong base set up by the first book and leaves you hanging for more (in a good way).
After a strong introduction to some of the best characters in fantasy genre, Joe Abercrombie returns with his 2nd book in the First Law Series in which Bayaz the First of Magi takes a ragtag group to the edge of the world where they discover something that'll leave huge impact on their lives and everyone's favourite Sherlock, Mr. San Dan Glokta tries his best to save the falling city while trying to cope with his failing life.
What I liked:
1) The Character Work: Stating the obvious. It's what this series and the author is known for. But it is so well done that I have to mention it. The scope of storytelling increases in this book with the readers getting 6 characters' pov. It is fascinating to see how the author builds on a strong groundwork laid down in the previous book.
2) Chemistry between the ragtag group: I really enjoyed the love and hate relationship between the group of characters that Bayaz takes with him for exploration. The interaction between Bayaz-Luthar-Logen-Ferrow and Longfoot makes their journey quite a fun.
3) San Dan Glokta: One of the finest characters ever written! San Dan Glokta and his sarcasm, his continuous pondering of his existence, his questioning of the work that he's doing and his constant fear of the most dangerous villain in his life - The stairs have all turned him into an iconic character!
4) The Northmen: Dogman, Threetrees and co. have been given more time in this book. I enjoyed their group, the role they played for the Union, how all of it panned out and the dynamic between them and West.
5) Action galore: After a slow start to the series, this book sees lots of battle scenes, fights and overall bloodloss making it an action packed read.
What I didn't like:
1) Exploration: The journey that Bayaz and co. go on essentially take them out of the main storyline for almost the whole book. It feels like the author decide to take that route to build the world and the characters for a payoff that might come in the final book. The problem is that when most of the main characters are not at the scene where the actual story is progressing then it reduces the interest and impact of that that story.
Conclusion:
Before they are hanged is a solid second book in the first law series. It builds on the strong base set up by the first book and leaves you hanging for more (in a good way).