As a follow up to A Little Hatred, there was a lot of high expectations for this novel and Abercrombie doesn’t disappoint. It starts out as a slow burn with the wealthy and those in power scheming and plotting to acquire more power and wealth, manipulate others to their side, and incite war to achieve their desires.
One of the most memorable parts of the book for me was when Abercrombie described a battle from different points of view of regular soldiers, exposing war as a meat grinder where participants in the end do not really care or understand what the conflict is about.
The worst of the human nature is exposed using dark wit in a way that very few authors have ability to accomplish. There are twists and turns in the plot, maturity and growth from some characters, backsliding and acceptance of their own depravity from others, all wrapped up in a package filled with humor, violence, uplifting heroism, catastrophic failures, misery, hope, love, and hate. It is a fantasy world that matches the real life written in a way that makes it hard to pull away from.
I most certainly wouldn’t be surprised if I read through all of Abercrombie’s books before the end of the year.