This has quickly become one of my favorite series, and this book is spectacular.

The characters are flawed - deeply flawed - but Abercrombie retains that spark within them that doesn't let the reader shun them. Did I shed a tear for characters I thought were of no real importance to my life? Yes. Do I hold out hope for some characters, knowing full well they either aren't going to make it or aren't going to change enough to be markedly different from those around them? Indeed I am, and I blame Abercrombie. I don't care how many times Ninefingers tells me "you have to be realistic about these things". I'm ignoring his advice.

And frankly, if "back to the mud" doesn't become the first thing you think about the death of any character, anywhere, in any book, I don't know what to tell you. Who knew something like that would stick? Speaking of sticking, I have to commend the treatment of the Bloody-Nine in this one. Much effort was (successfully) used to bring him a sense of wisdom, humanity, regret, philosophy, and otherwise elevating his character. And then, of course, there was the regression - the moment you find out he is, indeed, deserving of his name.

Ferro may be the one character still lacking the robustness of the others, but at the same time, I don't know that we're entitled to the rest of her story, nor do I think we're entitled to a more significant change. I think Abercrombie has given us the right blend of what we need to know and how broken she truly is from her experience. I'm not sure we have the right to ask for more than understanding she knows what's wrong with her and she tried to open up.

And then Abercrombie's pièce de résistance: Glokta.

What to even say about the man? Rarely have I come across such a well-written and properly explored villain. I understand why he's a fan favorite, and frankly, he deserves it. It takes a deft hand to create an empathetic bad guy, one who constantly questions his own actions ("why do I do this?"). It's repetitive, yes, but with good reason, and the reader wants to say "then just stop!", but knows full well - what else is this guy going to do with his life at this point?

This is not a fast-paced book (although the action scenes are top-tier), but rather a meandering, though well-plotted, book with deep character analysis and understanding. There are no dead ends, the threads begin to weave the tapestry of the narrative heading into book three, but it is not necessarily a quick read.

This is a must-read if you like fantasy, character-driven stories, and damn good writing.

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Created Feb 29, 2024 at 7:31pm • Submit your own review...