Before They Are Hanged
by Joe Abercrombie
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Before They Are Hanged is the continuation of The First Law series and follows the stories of the First of the Magi, Logen Ninefingers, Ferro, and many more of the host of characters within the book.
The Cover: Not a terrible cover, quite simple and plain, but nothing special. It does fit well with the others in this series and conveys the genre.
The good stuff: This book has a full cast of characters and Mr Abercrombie moves easily from one to another allowing the story to flow. I love the relationship between Logen Nine fingers and Ferro, The sudden shifts in temperament of Bayaz, the character arc Jezal Dan Luthar moves through as his character grows and there is so much more to love within the pages of this book. The story and the characters paths come together like a peacocks feather: Beautiful, colourful, and consisting of numerous barbs that all seem to converge on a pointed spine. Joe has created a dangerous, intriguing world and I absolutely love it. I have come to expect great things from Joe Abercrombie and he did not disappoint me with this novel.
The Bad Stuff: As with most other novels I’ve read by Joe, the only bad thing is that the book comes to an end and you want more.
In my opinion, this is a superbly written fantasy novel with a well established society, governments, clans, etc… The action, twists and political scheming keeps coming and holds the readers interest until the end. There are some richly described places, well defined characters and interesting fantasy elements. I have come to expect great things from Joe Abercrombie and he has not let me down with this fantastic novel. Call me biased if you will, but JA is without doubt my favourite author and I’m giving this one a blood thirsty 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks with a huge, deranged grin.
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Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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