More Opinions

As predicted, reviews of Best Served Cold have started springing up like saplings in springtime. Some are very good, one is very bad. Let us look at the good ones first then turn our attention to the rotten, like having a lovely warm shower and then diving head first into a peat bog…

First to the punch was Adam at the Wertzone:

“The story is gripping and compulsive, the humour is blacker than midnight, the prose is a notable step up from the already-enjoyable First Law Trilogy (although the gloriously terrible sex scenes remain intact) and the characters massively conflicted. There are more enormous battles and some even bigger, eye-raising twists than those from the end of the prior trilogy … if you like your books gritty, dark, funny and violent, than I can recommend this book without hesitation.”

Five stars. Since you ask. You didn’t ask? Well. Still five stars. Alice at Sandstorm Reviews has also read the book ahead of time:

“Abercrombie is a master at twisting expectations, and the familiar setup soon heads towards some very uncomfortable territory. There’s violence enough for all, and some battle and siege setpieces to rival anything in the trilogy, but as usual, it’s the character interactions that are the highlight … I imagine that Best Served Cold is on a lot of people’s Most Wanted lists for 2009 – well, you’ve not long to wait now, and you’re in for a real treat.”

I can only echo that last part. 9.5/10, by the way. Bit upset about that missing half point but, you know, nobody’s perfect. Especially sf&f bloggers! A ha ha ha ha. Joining the chorus of approval is Marcus Gipps of the bookseller Blackwells:

“This is a really fun book, and if you’ve read the other Abercrombie’s, you’re going to like this. In fact, you’re really going to like it. Everything that made those books so fun – the pointless gruesome violence, the well-defined characters, the moral greys and shadings, the incessant use of the word fruits, the harsh treatment of people we’ve got used to having around – are here, but ramped up another level … It won’t be to everyone’s taste – it’s too bleak for that (and a fantasy, of course) – but it really is very good, and another step upwards for Abercrombie. It’ll go to his head, of course.”

Go to my head? How absurd. Anyway, Marcus gave me seven broadswords out of seven. A ha ha again. I’m joking of course, Marcus doesn’t have a numerical rating system on his blog. But if he did, I like to think I’d have got the full seven broadswords. What are you going to do with half a broadsword, after all?

So, as promised, three top-drawer reviews. But I haven’t forgotten that I promised you a bad one too. We all like the bad ones really, don’t we? The thing is …

I lied. There are no bad reviews yet. Why not? Well, I guess it must be because the book is ace.

Why else?

Posted in reviews by Joe Abercrombie on March 13th, 2009.