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2.96 AVERAGE
2.96 AVERAGE
Pieces of Hate collects two Tim Lebbon stories revolving around the assassin Gabriel – “Dead Man’s Hand” and “Pieces of Hate.” Gabriel is on the hunt for Temple, who slaughtered his family, and it provides the basis for two equally interesting settings with one serving as a de facto western (albeit a weird western) and the other a good old-fashioned pirate story, respectively.
I won’t say more about Gabriel, his mission, or Temple because, really, why spoil the fun of those discoveries? There’s some interesting history between these two figures, and if you’ve read the book description you already know the gist of it.
Frankly, I’m a bit torn on this book. It’s filled with good ideas and interesting locales, which I liked a lot, but the execution just didn’t jibe with me.
In “Dead Man’s Hand,” we join Gabriel in the infamous Wild West town of Deadwood. This one’s a first-person POV narrated by a man named Doug who discovers a bloodied-up Gabriel in his shop. Doug’s personal history isn’t exactly one that would mark him as an adventurer, and he’s about as interesting as the timber walkways lining the fledgling community’s horseshit covered streets. Gabriel and Temple are, of course, the most interesting aspects of this story, but with Doug serving as a filter most of that gets watered down. Doug, you see, doesn’t know what the hell is going on and can’t really tell us anything meaning. Lebbon teases us with hints of a much better story than what is actually delivered by hapless Doug. We get all kinds of mystery and intrigue, but zilch in the way of answers and resolution. Thanks for nothing, Doug.
“Pieces of Hate” is the more interesting of the two, because PIRATES! This story is a close third-person account with a much stronger focus on Gabriel than the introductory story, and contains a bulk of the meat missing from “Dead Man’s Hand.” Unfortunately, it’s equally frustrating in its resolution, and those hoping for an epic showdown between these sworn enemies will be disappointed. While there’s some nice swashbuckling elements, I would have preferred a stronger finale for my time investment.
As a collection, Pieces of Hate provides two stories that are well written, but which lack a satisfying resolution. I guess the end of the second story offers a slim glimmer of hope that maybe a third story will come out to put a pin in all this with a decent finale. I might even be swayed to read it. Lebbon has some great ideas here, but none that are fully realized.
[Note: I received a copy of this title from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.]
I received this from the publisher at no cost.
Having read the first story, I was expecting another with an uninvolved narrator. So when it turned out to be Gabriel himself, I was surprised and a little disappointed. I can see why Lebbon did this; this story, which certainly felt much longer than the first (not sure if it really was), gave Gabriel's backstory and motivation for his quest to kill Temple. But I think that this could have been done in discussion with someone else, perhaps while on the voyage to Port Royal (the scene this time: en route to, and briefly in, Port Royal). That would have made it seem a bit less like Gabriel was moping around, and simultaneously wallowing in his fury and hate which were a little distasteful. I'm not saying he shouldn't be angry for what happened, just that I got impatient and a little bored with all of the WOE FOR ME bits.
There was a lot going on in this story that didn't involve the search for Temple. Some of it was showing Gabriel to be a bad-ass, which actually I didn't need; it's clear he is, and I think it would have been more impressive to have the clash between him and Temple show his chops, rather than killing maiming... well, not innocents, but not-Temple. Gabriel knows that he's no saint and doesn't claim to be, but it is hard to really be on the side of someone who is not-quite-as-bad-as the villain.
It wasn't a bad story, although the pacing felt a bit off; I'm not sure I care enough to read the third in the series.
Having read the first story, I was expecting another with an uninvolved narrator. So when it turned out to be Gabriel himself, I was surprised and a little disappointed. I can see why Lebbon did this; this story, which certainly felt much longer than the first (not sure if it really was), gave Gabriel's backstory and motivation for his quest to kill Temple. But I think that this could have been done in discussion with someone else, perhaps while on the voyage to Port Royal (the scene this time: en route to, and briefly in, Port Royal). That would have made it seem a bit less like Gabriel was moping around, and simultaneously wallowing in his fury and hate which were a little distasteful. I'm not saying he shouldn't be angry for what happened, just that I got impatient and a little bored with all of the WOE FOR ME bits.
There was a lot going on in this story that didn't involve the search for Temple. Some of it was showing Gabriel to be a bad-ass, which actually I didn't need; it's clear he is, and I think it would have been more impressive to have the clash between him and Temple show his chops, rather than killing maiming... well, not innocents, but not-Temple. Gabriel knows that he's no saint and doesn't claim to be, but it is hard to really be on the side of someone who is not-quite-as-bad-as the villain.
It wasn't a bad story, although the pacing felt a bit off; I'm not sure I care enough to read the third in the series.
Good book
I enjoyed reading this book although the stories are quite short they are related, the second being a prequel. I liked the anger that Gabriel has and wanted him to confront temple throughout the book.
I'm going to have a look now and see if there are any more books in this series as I want to know more.
I enjoyed reading this book although the stories are quite short they are related, the second being a prequel. I liked the anger that Gabriel has and wanted him to confront temple throughout the book.
I'm going to have a look now and see if there are any more books in this series as I want to know more.
As a story, it was fine, but thematically, it just hit so many of those old cliched notes and I didn't really care about the characters or this revenge quest. There were references to difference stories, but I feel like others have done it better. Didn't really vibe with the audiobook either. Ultimately, I only finished it because it's on a list of books that I bought, and I'm trying to read everything I buy. But I didn't particularly like this, sadly.
Content warnings:
Content warnings:
Spoiler
death, violence and gore, mentions of rape
Seems like a fantasy version of “Die Hard” with an extra dose of Christian theology.
Stylistically I really dug this, it got under my skin in the right way and, like. Pirates. I don't have a problem with this level of violence done in this visceral way. But the only women are dead plot devices, and that's just exhausting.
DNF - I read up to 40% and just wasn't feeling it. I usually enjoy Tim Lebbon's books, too, but this just didn't work for me
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Pieces of Hate contains the title story as well as a prequel called Dead man's Hand.
Both tell the tale of Gabriel hunting Temple, across the globe and through the ages. Gabriel doesn't have a choice but to do as he does.
This could set for a very interesting series, as the entire setting and cast of the series (except for the two mains) can change with each story. The prequel story I thought was a bit messy, but Pieces of Hate had pirates so that made up for a lot. I didn't feel it reached its full potential though, and I don't feel invested enough in the series to continue.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Pieces of Hate contains the title story as well as a prequel called Dead man's Hand.
Both tell the tale of Gabriel hunting Temple, across the globe and through the ages. Gabriel doesn't have a choice but to do as he does.
This could set for a very interesting series, as the entire setting and cast of the series (except for the two mains) can change with each story. The prequel story I thought was a bit messy, but Pieces of Hate had pirates so that made up for a lot. I didn't feel it reached its full potential though, and I don't feel invested enough in the series to continue.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Hm, I think this is the first Tor.com novella I've read that I wasn't over the moon about. For me, this is a case of "awesome idea, not the best execution." The story itself was cool, but I think the writing didn't work for me.
I didn't hate it, so I'd gladly read a third story.
I didn't hate it, so I'd gladly read a third story.
This review originally appeared on the Goldilox and the Three Weres blog.
Pieces of Hate is actually the collection of the first two stories in Tim Lebbon's Assassin series and out of the novellas I've read so far from tor.com, this one is my least favorite. The novelette Dead Man's Hand is a western whereas the second part, Pieces of Hate, is a Caribbean pirate story. The promise of pirates is what drew me to this novella but I couldn’t get into either of the stories. They were rather well written and the worldbuilding was good. It's brutal and dirty and very realistic, but the revenge plot wasn't compelling to me even though I understand why he wants it. I couldn't connect to Gabriel and his fight against Temple. Both stories felt like weirdly paced action scenes and just wasn't my cup of tea. While this didn't work for me, I think this one will appeal more to others. Unfortunately, I'm not interested enough to read the next one.
*ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
Pieces of Hate is actually the collection of the first two stories in Tim Lebbon's Assassin series and out of the novellas I've read so far from tor.com, this one is my least favorite. The novelette Dead Man's Hand is a western whereas the second part, Pieces of Hate, is a Caribbean pirate story. The promise of pirates is what drew me to this novella but I couldn’t get into either of the stories. They were rather well written and the worldbuilding was good. It's brutal and dirty and very realistic, but the revenge plot wasn't compelling to me even though I understand why he wants it. I couldn't connect to Gabriel and his fight against Temple. Both stories felt like weirdly paced action scenes and just wasn't my cup of tea. While this didn't work for me, I think this one will appeal more to others. Unfortunately, I'm not interested enough to read the next one.
*ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.