tweedlesmart's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Torture
ripxw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Torture
Minor: Slavery
nerdkitten's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Animal death, Alcohol, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexism, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Deportation, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, Vomit, Xenophobia, Excrement, Fatphobia, War, and Body shaming
Minor: Slavery, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Grief, Police brutality, Child abuse, and Genocide
loganjana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Misogyny, Torture, Classism, Violence, Ableism, Gore, and Sexism
Minor: Slavery and Physical abuse
josiahpeterson17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I also love the world Abercrombie has crafted here. It subtlety mysterious, and it feels vast and grand in scope, which is always something I want to feel when immersed in a fantasy world.
I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of Abercrombie's works in the First Law universe. He's instantly a new favorite author.
Update 11/6/23: I keep going back and forth with this decision, but for now I'm bumping to 5 stars. It's abundantly clear I love this trilogy even more as time passes.
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Torture
Minor: War
foxmulders's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Cannibalism, Gore, Torture, Death, and War
amir_hamza's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, and Cursing
lindseyinthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Torture
Moderate: Physical abuse
freya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Colonisation, Torture, and Gore
Moderate: Death and Domestic abuse
surdiablo's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
With all that said, I have come to realize something very much to my surprise. Say one thing about SurDiablo, say he didn't give a damn about the bloody plot! It's a book where nothing mind-blowing happens for the most part and I still really enjoyed it from top to bottom. I loved pretty much all of the characters in this and even those I didn't love, like Ferro, I still really really enjoyed their pov. I loved being in their shoes, their dialogue, their interactions with each other, the mystery, and the ever-present bleakness, combined with the dry humor. This is one of those rare books where I never felt bored at any point whatsoever and was always so tempted to get back to reading immediately. The descriptions never overstayed their welcome and I found the overall story more than interesting enough, but what mainly drove my interest was obviously the characters themselves. I found myself wanting to continue reading just to see what would happen to them, not concerned about story advancement at all. Heck, I can confidently say that I could read Glokta playing chess with his practicals and talking about random stuff for 3 hours and I wouldn't be bored at all. Suffice to say he's also my favorite character, closely followed by Logen the 'Bloody' Ninefingers. I have never felt so invested in characters like this before, except in Wheel of Time but that was a 14-book series, while this is a trilogy where I have read only one book so far.
Another thing that caught me off-guard is how damn funny it was, regardless of being known as a major grimdark novel. It made me laugh several times, while not taking away the suspense or emotional impact. I cringed whenever
Spoiler
Glokta tortured someone or felt pain climbing stairs, I seethed when the gang lost Forley, I found my heart sinking and pretty much needed a break after reading West's chapter where he abused Ardee.Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Cannibalism