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mugwumpun's review against another edition
4.0
dark, gritty, dark, like the first in the series. However, I found that the story didn't seem as tight, and I noticed more deus ex machina rescues than in the first book. I still look forward to the conclusion of the story, though. This book felt more like an interlude between the first and third.
emeraldzak's review
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Slow to start but great once it's there. This series continues to be full of difficult-to-read topics, but not in a gratuitous way like ASoIaF/GoT
aceinit's review against another edition
3.0
Morgan’s “A Land Fit for Heroes” series is one of my favorite things I’ve found in recent years, and I almost regret giving this book such a low rating for something I like so much. But the sad fact is, this book sufferes badly from the dreaded “middle book syndrome.” Worse, it does not really stand alone as a novel. It feels like the first half of a longer work, not in the “the events of this book are concluded, but the greater story is to be continued” was of most novels in a series, but in the sense that I feel like I’ve only been handed half a novel. So much time is devotes to the mysterious city in the ocean, to setting up the Illwrack Changeling, to Gil’s growing powers, that, when the last page comes and we are only just now setting out on our journey, I couldn’t help but feel just a little cheated.
Then there is the mysterious, and I’m sure to remain important Hjel, who is just kind of dropped into the series amid Ringil’s wanderings in the grey places, as though he is someone we should already know. Time moves strangely in the grey places, sure, but we go from leaving Ringil at the end of book 1 with his knowledge of his part in a twisted prophecy, then we meet him in book 2 and suddenly he’s quite proficient in all dark glyph magic (thanks to Hjel), and it feels like too many important moments are skipped over from one book to the next.
I am eagerly waiting to see how all these events are resolved and concluded in “The Dark Defiles.” I can’t finally wait to get the second half of the story that was started here.
Then there is the mysterious, and I’m sure to remain important Hjel, who is just kind of dropped into the series amid Ringil’s wanderings in the grey places, as though he is someone we should already know. Time moves strangely in the grey places, sure, but we go from leaving Ringil at the end of book 1 with his knowledge of his part in a twisted prophecy, then we meet him in book 2 and suddenly he’s quite proficient in all dark glyph magic (thanks to Hjel), and it feels like too many important moments are skipped over from one book to the next.
I am eagerly waiting to see how all these events are resolved and concluded in “The Dark Defiles.” I can’t finally wait to get the second half of the story that was started here.
winterscape's review against another edition
5.0
The Cold Commands is a seriously great read. The rating is higher here than on The Steel Remains for a reason! It`s better than the first, which gives me such high hopes for the third.
- The pacing is fixed, leaving hardly a dull moment to speak of.
- The three main characters are just as tough, interesting, and well-rounded. They continue to grow as people and their friendships are strong and heartfelt. No one could ever make the mistake of calling these people true heroes - they're shaded completely grey.
- The story feels more adventurous, with many chapters ending on must-keep-reading cliffhangers. One of my favourite parts of the book was when How was he going to get out of that?! The answer, retroactively, is pretty cool.
- I was glad that the sexual content was pared down a bit, making it less risqué and more appropriate for the situation. As well, the horror aspect was amped up slightly, with a few scenes that left me quite horrified (in a good way).
- The world was expanded upon and is intriguingly realistic, like most aspects of the book. I wish there was a map included, but I guess that's considered cliché now.
- I really love this exploration through the lives of veterans, rather than present-day soldiers. I haven't read many fantasy stories that deal with the aftermath of the "great war" and all of the poor, deformed, and broken veterans it must leave behind. It's so refreshing in its realism.
If you had any doubts about continuing the series after The Steel Remains, I highly recommend giving The Cold Commands a chance. I liked it exponentially more than the first and A Land Fit for Heroes is shaping up to be one of my favourite fantasy trilogies.
- The pacing is fixed, leaving hardly a dull moment to speak of.
- The three main characters are just as tough, interesting, and well-rounded. They continue to grow as people and their friendships are strong and heartfelt. No one could ever make the mistake of calling these people true heroes - they're shaded completely grey.
- The story feels more adventurous, with many chapters ending on must-keep-reading cliffhangers. One of my favourite parts of the book was when
Spoiler
Ringil discovered that he had the plague and the city was going into quarantine, so he sent his companion (and only ride out) away to spare them from catching it from him.- I was glad that the sexual content was pared down a bit, making it less risqué and more appropriate for the situation. As well, the horror aspect was amped up slightly, with a few scenes that left me quite horrified (in a good way).
- The world was expanded upon and is intriguingly realistic, like most aspects of the book. I wish there was a map included, but I guess that's considered cliché now.
- I really love this exploration through the lives of veterans, rather than present-day soldiers. I haven't read many fantasy stories that deal with the aftermath of the "great war" and all of the poor, deformed, and broken veterans it must leave behind. It's so refreshing in its realism.
If you had any doubts about continuing the series after The Steel Remains, I highly recommend giving The Cold Commands a chance. I liked it exponentially more than the first and A Land Fit for Heroes is shaping up to be one of my favourite fantasy trilogies.
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
3.0
This is the middle book in a dark fantasy trilogy: spoilers ahead.
Spoiler
It had a significant advantage over the opening book in that I began by liking the three principal characters, all of whom return from book one. Indeed, in this book I found myself strongly attached to the central figure, Ringil Eskiath. On the downside, the book felt slightly protracted and some of the chapters rather inconsequential. This may be a feature of breaking the story into volumes for a trilogy. The trilogy is classified as fantasy both on the author's website and on the back covers, but has elements in it that feel science fictional, a combination I rather like. But it is the characters, Ringil especially, who will draw me back to finish the trilogy.ugla's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
brian9teen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
librarian_of_trantor's review against another edition
4.0
The Cold Commands, the second book in Richard K. Morgan’s A Land Fit for Heroes trilogy, is a worthy sequel to The Steel Remains. The series deftly twists the tropes of fantasy with a few SF tropes in mix as well. But this series is not for everyone. The violence and sex are graphic but not gratuitous. F-bombs litter the pages like the blood splatters from the protagonist’s fabled sword Ravensfriend. Similes and metaphors are the coin of the writer’s realm. My favorite, metaphor not F-bomb, was the description of crowded city streets “impassible at any pace above that of a snail with a diploma in law”. I am glad that the third book, The Dark Defiles, is already out so I don’t have to wait to see how this story ends.
siavahda's review against another edition
4.0
I remember reading this for the first time when it was released, and for some reason not enjoying it nearly as much as I'd liked Steel Remains. Well, maybe I just wasn't ready for CC, because rereading it now several years later, I loved it to pieces and couldn't put it down. A very worthy successor to Remains, and now I can finally go and pick up book three and find out how all the beautifully interesting and intricate skeins of plot revolve themselves!