Reviews with content warning for Death - Kriegsklingen

When I entered this world, I knew these characters were morally gray and weren't heroes in golden armor. I also knew that the tone of this type of book was much darker and heavier. What I didn't expect was to become attached to these characters.

The book is too slow and never seems to move forward in the story. It focuses heavily on the characters and their day-to-day adventures. Sometimes, it was tedious to read chapter after chapter that amounted to nothing. However, I found myself hooked and wanting to know more about them.

Joe Abercrombie's greatest strength is his characters. Each one has a distinct voice and perspective that sets them apart. The audiobook emphasizes these distinctions, highlighting the personality of each character.

The book introduces us to Logen, a northern man who falls off a cliff while fighting some half-man, half-animal creatures called Shanka, ultimately becoming separated from his group. Logen's reputation as bloodthirsty in battle precedes him, suggesting a dark past. However, we find a character who wants to leave that identity behind. By chance, he ends up with Bayaz, a bald man claiming to be the first of the Magi, and his apprentice on their journey to the Union.

In the Union, we meet Jezal, a young swordsman training for the Champion’s Tournament. Jezal is vain, selfish, and conceited. He believes himself superior to others because of his birthright. However, his beliefs conflict when he becomes involved with Ardee, someone from a lower caste who challenges him to see beyond his superficial ambitions.

We also have Inquisitor Glokta, a former swordsman captured and tortured during the war with the Gurkish. He's a bitter invalid who tortures anyone who might betray the crown. Glokta is cynical and self-pitying but very intelligent and witty, which makes him an enjoyable character to read.

Finally, we meet Ferro Maljinn, a former slave who hates those who enslaved her. Her thirst for revenge knows no limits, and she'll do anything to quench that thirst. Ferro is a skilled, fierce, and distrustful fighter. During the book, she has to trust in other characters. Her interactions with Logen are interesting, and they both share common traits.

The book introduces these characters, revealing almost nothing of the plot. I'm intrigued by what may come in the next installment.

Content Warnings

gdwilliams019's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Solid characters. Not enough women though.

Content Warnings

bookswithbethx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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tilla's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

For a long time this was a bit of a tough read for me - I didn’t connect with any of the characters and they were mostly somewhat… unlikable? Interesting but not really someone you wanna root for. What often draws me in are the relations between characters and for most of the book the deeper relationships were hard to find, but still it was a very interesting story and interesting characters and towards the end when everyone sorta were drawn together it all finally connected for me, and now I think I have to finish the series

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sophieamreacher's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

Amazingly complex world and characters. Definitely the start of a series with lots of information and setting the scene but I’m really excited to dive more into this world.

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hannahdamigo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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zoeoz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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just_readsthings's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

50 pages of fluff could’ve been shaved off, hence the 0.25 star drop, but there truly aren’t characters like Abercrombie’s characters.

I appreciate sticking to buildup work in this one, instead of attempting to make it a perfectly balanced book. It’s heavy in many senses but the prose is free from clumsiness and pompousness which both tend to plague the genre.

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