Reviewed by Eli Adelholm
Best Served Cold is a stand-alone novel set in the world of the ‘First Law’ trilogy – a series that I have previously reviewed and praised as one of the most intriguing works in modern fantasy.
The World Goes
On
One thing I
noted in my review of ‘The First Law’ was the ending having a “sour taste
of unfinished business about it.” I really like this quality of Abercrombie’s;
the world he portrays does not begin and end with the story or the characters
in question.
Best Served Cold takes over a
few years after the end of ‘The First Law’ and is set in another part of the
world, with a new set of characters mixed with a couple of old timers from the
series. Here, the world is no better or worse off for the events that went down
in the previous books.
What Went
Wrong?
The thing is;
I am actually quite disappointed and I find it hard to point out the why of it.
Best Served Cold is a very well written book (more so, in fact, than ‘The First
Law’.) It is full of life-like characters, the plot is solid and the action is
strong. It is every bit as gritty as the ‘First Law’ trilogy - and still it did
not catch me.
I think the problem
is that Best Served Cold lacks much of the suspense and unpredictability that
made ‘The First Law’ such a page-turningly awesome read. In addition, I
think the plot was probably too one-sided for me, with no room for detours or
interesting little quirks in the corners.
Vengeance with
a Will
As the title
suggests this book is all about vengeance. It is a breakneck tale of a woman
who has only one goal in mind, who will not stop to breathe before she has
achieved that end, and the company that follow her.
This really
was a predictable read for me. There were only two things during the course of
the story I did not predict – one of which I probably should have seen coming,
though. I feel like these twists took a bit too long in coming – just when the
story is over and there is no more pages left to marvel at the ingenuity of them.
As to the Characters.
I read another
review pointing out that the characters are all too similar, and I will have to
concur. We have a group of people who are all experienced killers, albeit in
each their way, and despite whatever moral qualms some of them may have in the
beginning, they all seem equally cold-blooded, going about murdering like everyday
business.
Somehow, they
seem a little too good at what they are doing. There was never much doubt in my
mind that they would succeed with their quest.
They are all
horribly flawed, of course, as is Abercrombie’s style, but those flaws seem to
limit them only a fraction of what one might have expected. Even though the
main character’s main hand is crippled, she rarely seem to struggle with the
fighting – the focus is more on the cosmetic problems with it.
One thing I
must applaud Abercrombie for, though, is his point of view changes. I absolute
love how he manages to give each character a distinctive voice, and how he
manages to develop the characters while staying true to their style.
Source: Borrowed
from my local library
IBR Rating:
★★★
Recommendation: If you are new to Joe Abercrombie, you should
certainly start your acquaintance by reading The First Law trilogy. If you liked that series and
are not sure whether to read this one, I say go for it. It is a good read. Just don’t pick it up
with the expectation of getting The First Law all over again.
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