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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Good read, but a lot of the background arcana is frustratingly opaque and leads to a rather deus ex machine denouement. Luckily the characters are still entertaining and their stories flow pretty well, though that's not quite enough to avoid the middle-novel-of-trilogy dip.
I love how these books combine the story of the three characters together by the end in a way that feels effortless but took a lot of skill. The races, magic, and technology in this world are all cool. It provides so much intrigue, and makes me want to dig more and more into it all. I wish the story did not feel like such a setup for the third book, but overall I enjoyed The Cold Commands a lot.
Another great read from Richard K. Morgan. For those of you with prudish characters, this may have scenes which you cannot stomach. For those of us with more open minds, it is a refreshingly different way of looking at the fantasy genre. This is a bit more realistic than the more sanitised fantasy we are used to.
Great fun and looking forward to the next one.
Great fun and looking forward to the next one.
I do like books where you can formulate and discard theories on just what the hell is happening as you go along and further snippets of information are given to you. With the fact that half of Ringil's adventure in this book is done in metaphor (or, as he calls them, the Grey Places) it's extremely possible to theorise wildly at every turn. Which is good, because otherwise, I find his trekking through fantasyland slightly tedious.
This remains thoroughly interesting fantasy, partly because it's just so damn different. Morgan takes a gleeful, filthy cant on traditional fantasy, and he rolls around in mysterious world-building that includes so many elements you just don't often see in the genre (the state of the night sky remains one of the most compelling ongoing items in the worldbuilding for me). I've seen criticism of the patchiness of his plotting, and that's entirely justified, but I'm willing to run over the top of it for the black humour and the interesting development.
However, I am fumbling with certainty that hatched within me halfway through that this is probably not going to be a trilogy, given that I'm not sure we've even MET the true villains yet, and they haven't even set off on the quest they were planning for half the book.
Also, as a writer currently struggling with POV questions in my own work, I was somewhat bemused to see Morgan's careful system of POV rotation (previously Ringil-Egar-Ringil-Archeth-Ringil) fall down completely in the second half of the book. Did I care? Only inasmuch as Archeth kept getting left out. There's only so much wildly silly testosterone a girl can take.
This remains thoroughly interesting fantasy, partly because it's just so damn different. Morgan takes a gleeful, filthy cant on traditional fantasy, and he rolls around in mysterious world-building that includes so many elements you just don't often see in the genre (the state of the night sky remains one of the most compelling ongoing items in the worldbuilding for me). I've seen criticism of the patchiness of his plotting, and that's entirely justified, but I'm willing to run over the top of it for the black humour and the interesting development.
However, I am fumbling with certainty that hatched within me halfway through that this is probably not going to be a trilogy, given that I'm not sure we've even MET the true villains yet, and they haven't even set off on the quest they were planning for half the book.
Also, as a writer currently struggling with POV questions in my own work, I was somewhat bemused to see Morgan's careful system of POV rotation (previously Ringil-Egar-Ringil-Archeth-Ringil) fall down completely in the second half of the book. Did I care? Only inasmuch as Archeth kept getting left out. There's only so much wildly silly testosterone a girl can take.
Fuck, shit tous les 3 mots ça va 5 minutes mais ce qui était amusant dans le premier tome devient une recette artificielle, d'autant plus agaçante que l'histoire derrière est totalement confuse et que, surtout, les personnages et leurs relations n'ont aucune épaisseur. Dommage car l'auteur a du talent comme en témoignent quelques fulgurances comme les passages avec les helmsman. Bref, n'est pas Joe Abercrombie qui veut.
Another exciting story, of the three hero's from the first book. Very well told, and progression.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As good as The Steel Remains?
No, not quite, but pretty good. The book starts off slowly, with the characters spread out over the world. But the pace gets faster, the writing tighter, and the plot lines intersect as the book progresses.
The big problem is that it finally hits its stride and comes close to perfection in the last 50 pages or so, leaving you praying for the as-yet-unannounced (but highly desired) sequel. Hopefully the wait will be less than 4 years this time.
No, not quite, but pretty good. The book starts off slowly, with the characters spread out over the world. But the pace gets faster, the writing tighter, and the plot lines intersect as the book progresses.
The big problem is that it finally hits its stride and comes close to perfection in the last 50 pages or so, leaving you praying for the as-yet-unannounced (but highly desired) sequel. Hopefully the wait will be less than 4 years this time.
3 1/2 Stars.
Really difficult to grade, there are wonderful ideas, good writing--and it is a glorious mess! "Revelations" come that don't make any sense, because they are wrapped up in the same poetic, dense material that set them up in the first place.
I like it, I'll read the final one, but... he needed an editor. That simple.
Really difficult to grade, there are wonderful ideas, good writing--and it is a glorious mess! "Revelations" come that don't make any sense, because they are wrapped up in the same poetic, dense material that set them up in the first place.
I like it, I'll read the final one, but... he needed an editor. That simple.
this was a long slog. The author likes to describe things, but not in any useful way. many things were completely unclear, and the rest were just slightly confusing. unexplained mysteries... I'm glad that I've finally finished this book.