This is the second of Abercrombie's books that I've read (the first being Best Served Cold). In my opinion, this book isn't as good as Best Served Cold, but, still an amazing read. I'll explain why in the review I'll write on it. Abercrombie has a way of creating characters that you either root for or hate, or feel one way towards and then quickly change to the other, especially across books (yes, some of the characters that I loved from Best Served Cold make appearances in this book, and I either loved or hated them, but I'll keep that a secret!). The world he has created in this series is brilliant and complex. All are in a middle earth setting, but this book dives into a more western/cowboy feel. 

Abercrombie is also one of a select few authors that actually makes me laugh (mostly internally, but sometimes out loud). For example, in the middle of a character's apology, he writes, "A stray dog limped across the plot, sniffed at a turd, added one of its own, and moved on." I also love/hate his descriptions of the vile written in eloquent prose: "Cog sniffed up some snot, worked it thoughtfully about his mouth, gathering a good sense of its consistency, then leaned back and spat..." All of this is delicately interspersed among a page-turning plot and interesting character back stories. Also, the sarcasm between a male and a female character (I won't name names so as to not ruin their meeting) is far too real, in a good way.

OK, now for the pieces I didn't love so much. In this book versus his last, I found that some emotional dialogue happened at inappropriate times, like en route to battle. Not exactly the right time to ask someone about why they have changed or who they truly are... right before you're about to stab at another with a sword. This next bit is also probably a "me" problem, but I don't love what I call "round" endings, meaning an ending that is a little too perfect or had to have perfect timing and execution of events, like a last minute save. There are a few of those in here, but not enough to dock it extra points. Just something I notice when reading.

I give this book 4/5 stars. Definitely recommend this series to fantasy fiction lovers.

Happy reading!

<3 Vivian