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adammtucker'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
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Drug abuse
da3m0nic's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, and Infidelity
surdiablo's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
I will start with what I liked the most. I did like the conclusion of almost all the arcs. The book ends with
Now the things I disliked, I'mma start with the simple ones.
I know this may sound like tooting my own horn here, but somehow I saw almost all the twists coming which didn't help either, Whether it be Glokta being the leader, Tallow betraying Vick ( didn't expect him to be a plant though ), Rikke betraying Orso, Zuri being Ishri, etc. Maybe I got too used to Abercrombie's style or whatever, but I never actively try to predict where the story is going while reading fiction. So if I still end up seeing most of them coming, then I'm afraid that's a bit too predictable for me. I know many of these points can be canceled out with suspension of disbelief, and the 'plot convenience' exists plenty in the first trilogy as well, but we didn't know what we were getting into back then, so things felt more plausible. We know the influence and importance of certain people in the world now, so Bayaz getting overthrown seemed a bit too easy without much resistance. Then again, Bayaz sees everything as tools and is a long-term planner so that's also fine. As I always say, predictable isn't necessarily bad, it's mostly that while I liked the conclusions themselves, I did not enjoy the ride to get there, and them being predictable made it less impactful.
I think the main problem, that soured my opinion most and subjected this book to such nitpicky scrutiny, was that the Great Change had finally come, and it was.. boring. I did not enjoy the first half at all, and I cared the least when it came to the Judge and Broad combo. The first half dragged on plenty with Orso having no agency for almost all of the book, and when interesting things finally started happening, it was as expected, so by the time I finished, the whole thing felt rather underwhelming. While I love Orso and Rikke, and Leo and Savine are great characters, I can't say they are as memorable as the OG cast, where the only person I didn't care for back then was Ferro. I felt like Abercrombie also overused the POV switch a lot in this trilogy so it lost its charm.
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Gore and Racism
Minor: Homophobia
ripxreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Cannibalism
josiah17's review against another edition
- 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
“She never saw more damage done than by folk acting on high principle.”
Full of suspense, intensity, and shocking revelations. I loved every moment of this. I made sure to read every page a little slower as I was nearing the end just to savor it. I'm overjoyed that I made the decision to read all of First Law this year after falling in love with the first trilogy. I'm really gonna miss the world of First Law and all the characters (lots of jerks) who've had a part in these books. Abercrombie has created something truly special, and he might just be my favorite modern fantasy author.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and War
palindromereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Murder, and War
billievee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Incest, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual violence
mikki_9's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
darkkrusader's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism
srm's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Cursing and Gore
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Murder, and Pregnancy