Reviews

This was the final book in the series, and it wrapped it all together in a tidy bundle. I’ll say this about it: the characters were truly and amazingly well written with incredible depth. The writing was excellent, and I found myself smiling with admiration at the witty way the author expressed something: cutting to the heart of a matter with a few carefully constructed words. The storyline was complex, and I look forward to talking it through with others who have read it, as I’m still not sure I caught all the intricacies. I’m pleased that even in the end there were a few surprises that were incredibly well done. And the endings for each of the characters were fitting to type. Although clearly not necessarily with happy endings. This was never going to be that type of book. So with all that praise, why not five stars? Well, because it was a bit under-satisfying as a whole. A lot of reading a lot of long pages where not much happens. And somehow we find ourselves back at the beginning again. Even that is probably the wicked intent of the author, a deliberate literary ploy. But I find myself unamused and a little tired. Like: wait, what?

dbateman1355's review

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.25

barbare16's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kashna83's review

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3.0

Pues igual es que tenía expectativas muy altas con esta trilogía... Pero no me ha gustado todo lo que esperaba de ella. El último libro se me ha hecho muy pesado. Estuve a punto de dejarlo pero después de hacer el esfuerzo de leer 2 libros y medio... hay que acabar. Los personajes es lo que más me ha gustado. Y lo que menos es la historia en sí. No la veo demasiado original. Prácticamente todas las cosas que sucedían las había anticipado, y la verdad es que me gusta que me sorprendan. La puntúo con un 3/5 porqué aún así está suficientemente bien escrita como para acabar el libro.

marit0223's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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? It's complicated

5.0

timinbc's review

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5.0

I don't see how I can not give this five stars.
There are many people I won't recommend it to, and I'm not even sure I liked it in the end.
But I have to admire what Abercrombie has wrought here.

So ... you have to set aside any expectation that They All Live Happily Ever After. You have to accept that there can be worlds where good and evil are not as closely balanced as they are here. Or that there can be a society in which everyone eventually faces a tough choice. Not even the choice of bad vs worse; more like bad vs another bad.

You have to be OK with a lot of hacking and slashing and maiming, but if you've already worked through the first two you won't have a problem. Sometimes it gets a bit silly, with 15-foot warriors and magic armour and swords that cut through far more than is realistic. Logistics are rarely mentioned; tens of thousands of soldiers are in place for days and we only ever hear of a few sheep and perhaps once some water.

Magic is used inconsistently. There's a bit of well, geez, if you could do THAT all along why the heck didn't you? There are some suggestions of limitations on magic's use in book two, and in book three one characters needs a Thing to do what it takes to stop opponents who are very powerful without a Thing. Hmmm.

You'll want to read all three books somewhat close together if you can, because this trilogy has one of the most complexly woven multi-multi-strand plots I have ever read, and I've read a LOT of them. It's a masterpiece of plotting, and using characters in a way that fits them, and setting things up thousands of pages ahead.

All the characters are flawed, most of them more than we are -- authors are allowed to magnify for effect. Some of them have flickers of goodness that haven't been knocked out of them yet. Several of the key characters are very believably just as you'd expect them to be after all they have been through in the other two books. Most key characters develop slowly and steadily, not in big leaps. There are at least ten really interesting characters.

Everything ties together marvellously in the end, and many plot threads are resolved. Maybe not the way you thought, but in a way that is quite plausible even while unpleasant. OK, horrible. And there are a few surprises even right near the end.

And one important non-resolution that suggests three explanations: (a) sequel! (b) no simple resolution would fit this character (c ) Abercrombie just decided to

Spoiler

do a Sopranos

.

But this is one fantasy world I never, ever want to visit.

ponken's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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