Reviews

At this point Abercrombie will have to write a real clanger to not get five stars from me. This one is a standalone within a known universe, however you do not need to read the others to enjoy (or hate) this one. All the usual Abercrombie moral obfuscations, wonderful characterizations, and fair amount of blood and guts are present. Do yourself a favour and listed to Steve Pacey's audio version. You will be asking the dog if he wants to go out for yet another walk...

pepper_d's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

pnathan28's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

As a stand alone, it is weaker than the First Law trilogy but the world building was good and it works as a decent if not predictable revenge story.

fantasticalotter's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad 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

4.0

rharriskay's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.0

The first standalone novel in Joe Abrocrombie’s First Law world, Best Served Cold is an enjoyable novel, but one that is basically summarized by its title. If you know how revenge stories go, you won’t be too surprised by the twists this takes.

Not that this isn’t an enjoyable read. Abrocrombie has a knack for pacing and writing witty and darkly funny characters and scenes that makes this book fly by. Particularly impressive is how each section of the book should feel repetitive by its structure (go to a new place, locate the target, kill the target, repeat) but every section has a new complication that keeps it fresh.

All the same, I can’t say I enjoyed this as much as any of the First Law books. That trilogy was one that the author had sat on for years, and to a degree I think that can be seen in how it’s written.

I also was a bit disappointed in how much this novel leans on the previous one for motivations and backstory. To be clear, this book can be read standalone, but you’d be doing a disservice to any future read of the First Law trilogy. I can’t help but wish the standalone was more stand alone.

This is an easy recommend though for anyone who read the First Law and wants more. You’ll generally know what to expect but it’s a fun ride.

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