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Review: The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie
The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie feels like his life’s work taking its earned place on the top of the pedestal. It feels like the end of an era with the First Law Series having its final curtain call. As with any much-beloved series, it’s hard to close that final chapter and say goodbye to the scheming, betrayals, and bloodshed. It’s hard to know sometimes which way Abercrombie will take his characters and what end they’ll be dealt but trust in the author and his vision because it’s worth the ride and I believe that every character got the ending they needed. “Debauchery is profitable under any government” The…
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Review: The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie
The Trouble with Peace is Abercrombie’s best book to date. Dark. Bloody. Utterly hypnotic. How on earth do you review something flawless, something so resolutely perfect? A story that details the travesty of war, the brutality of love, and the burden of power. Peace can be glorious but the truth is told – it is rarely the peace a nation would come to know. Enemies in the shadows, whispers in the halls, treason is never far from the mind. “We’re all like children, Rikke. The older you get, the more you realize the grown-ups won’t suddenly walk in and set things right. You want things right, you have to put…
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Review: A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
A Little Hatred is a story that relishes and thrives being in the darkness. It’s a leveling up from The First Law Trilogy. The achievements have been collected, the characters have grown and the bloody destruction continues. Although this is technically a new series, I do believe that your reading enjoyment will be enriched by reading the First Law Trilogy. The backstories and journeys will be far more satisfying if you do so. A Little Hatred is like nothing I have read before, I do think that it even surpasses his fantastic first law series – which Is saying something because I loved it! Abercrombie has settled into his writing,…
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The Fort (City of Victory #1) by Adrian Goldsworthy
Sometimes you just pick up a book and fall into another time. The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy is one such book. The time, the characters, the narrative. Everything just seems to slot into place. The characterization skills are terrifically utilized and the plot was swift-moving and often balancing on a knife-edge. I am a huge fan of historical fiction and I genuinely believe that I would be hard placed to see a better example of it than, The Fort. Flavius Ferox is a character that instantly called to me. He’s vivid, he’s alive and passionate. His character arc and internal monologue cast me into a time where brutality is the…
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These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong | Review
Apparently I’m the girl that just doesn’t get along with highly anticipated reads. I originally picked this book up because it sounded like an awesome premise. A romeo & Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shangai. I’m a massive fan of storytelling set in Asia but man alive, there is just no world building whatsoever. I didn’t feel transported to another time, I didn’t really get a feel for the culture or the way of life. I really needed more in that regard. The characterisation was weak. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters. Juliet was written as a strong and independent woman but I just found her incredibly…
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A Time Of Courage by John Gwynne | Review
What a freaking ride! A Time of Courage was everything I had hoped it would be. My emotions are scattered, I’m shaking but above all else I am in awe of the raw and the brutality of John Gwynne’s penmanship. I picked up the first book in the Of Blood and Bone series in the summer and it has easily become my favourite adult fantasy series, ever, and I have read a lot of adult fantasy! Get ready for a finale that is action packed, swifter than a war-hammer to the face and so heart-breaking that it brings you straight to your knees. A Time of Courage is a story…
