Best Served Cold

Feb 05, 2013 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of gritty fantasy

Shelves: action, fantasy, female-lead

AKA "Abercrombie and the Ultimate Anti-Heroes."

Here's the short review: reading Best Served Cold is like being a guest judge on 'Iron Chef America: Sardines.' Sure, there's some incredible stuff happening--but still... it's sardines . And would you really want to eat like that every day?

The long review: What's good? The writing, the world, the character description, the brilliant way Abercrombie links and weaves so many plots together, both large and small, and the tension he is able to build...more AKA "Abercrombie and the Ultimate Anti-Heroes."

Here's the short review: reading Best Served Cold is like being a guest judge on 'Iron Chef America: Sardines.' Sure, there's some incredible stuff happening--but still... it's sardines . And would you really want to eat like that every day?

The long review: What's good? The writing, the world, the character description, the brilliant way Abercrombie links and weaves so many plots together, both large and small, and the tension he is able to build through the story even when the general outline is known ("seven deaths"). There were times I found myself saying, "now that was a fabulous sentence/paragraph/plot twist," but I couldn't tear myself away from reading long enough to take down a note or two. So we will all have to remain unsure which particular points struck me; what I remember is that they were there and there was more than one. One notable narrative device used to brilliant effect is in memory segments in the beginning of some chapters. The memory gives context an earlier event we've already heard rumors about or how it has given rise to particular actions. It results in a neat little bite of background to the rumors, character insight and world history. Overall, he achieves that rare writer's groove where the reader stops to marvel, but not long enough to disengage from the story.

The bad? Well, while it's not done badly, truly none of the characters are very likeable. Caught in webs of their own weaving, and victims of their own pursuits, no one is very sympathetic. These are well-created characters that occasionally navigate their challenges with grace, and always with fortitude, but most often just use determination and brutality. If you've read The First Law series, and Abercrombie is hoping you have (as more than a few characters have first made appearances there), the main character, Monza, "The Butcher," suffers overmuch from similarity to Inspector Glotka. The frequent references to her physical discomforts sounded a great deal like the words used to describe him, and I found myself feeling like a significant amount of her character-building was poached from him. Abercrombie writes that part of his personal challenge with this book was writing a lead female character, and perhaps because of Glokta, I just feel like he didn't quite succeed.

Four stars for literary excellence, but the brutality and lack of truly heroic characters will keep me from adding to my personal collection, and prevent me awarding full five-star awesomeness rating.

Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...(less)

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Aug 26, 2010 Architeuthis rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2000s, fiction-that-speculates

Filter the retro feel and the Tarantino dialogue from "Kill Bill Volume 1." Take what's left and mix in one random barbarian from Abercrombie's earlier trilogy, then pour into a pan with a good dollop of the late Middle Ages. Fry for 880 pages, dropping in one new badguy every 110. By the end of the process, it should look something like "The Unforgiven". . . It won't taste nearly as good, though.

I'm surprised about all the glowing reviews this book has gotten considering how little new ground t...more Filter the retro feel and the Tarantino dialogue from "Kill Bill Volume 1." Take what's left and mix in one random barbarian from Abercrombie's earlier trilogy, then pour into a pan with a good dollop of the late Middle Ages. Fry for 880 pages, dropping in one new badguy every 110. By the end of the process, it should look something like "The Unforgiven". . . It won't taste nearly as good, though.

I'm surprised about all the glowing reviews this book has gotten considering how little new ground this one breaks. Abercrombie, as always, goes against some of our genre stereotypes, but. . . well, so what?

Here's the plot: Monza Murcatto is a heartless badass who leads a group of mercenaries called the Thousand Swords, and her brother is her advisor and right hand man. She's recently worked for a man who wants to conquer a bunch of countries, and when she meets him in his castle, he has both of them stabbed and thrown over the balcony, where they fall far, far down, and land in a forest.

Monza survives, and begins her quest to kill all seven of the guys who were in the room when she was betrayed and her brother killed. Think "The Crow." Think "Payback." Think "The Machine Girl" and ninety-seven-thousand other movies.

So, Abercrombie's first mistake was making it seven badguys. Four, or maybe five, were necessary to make his story work, because character and plot development happens during that many episodes. Did I mention they feel like episodes? They do.

Throughout the book, we increasingly learn that this apparently straight-up revenge story has some darker, murkier undertones, and even what we thought we knew about the larger conflict is vastly skewed because of whose vantage point we're seeing these events from. I like this approach to fantasy, but unless you're new to Abercrombie, it's not much of a surprise.

Why three stars? Well, I enjoyed this book, despite its flaws. This is probably one of those I-love-you-so-I'm-hard-on-you kinda things, because I couldn't believe Abercrombie had the balls to end his First Law Trilogy the way he did. It was fucking awesome. But Abercrombie pulls most of the same tricks here, and we end up with no greater understanding of the genre, or of Abercrombie's take on heroes, than we had at the end of the First Law Trilogy. For many fantasy readers, this is exactly what they're looking for; but the sameness of most fantasy bores the shit out of me.

Abercrombie has a new and unusual take on the fantasy genre, and turns the common tropes of fantasy on their head in certain ways. Unless he finds new ways to do this, though, he's going to create his own standard fantasy formula that can be repeated by nine thousand hack authors who will make it just another kind of stereotypical fantasy: 'Medieval Noir."

I'm in a grumpy mood and can apparently not focus on the positive, so let me try again: this book is funny, action packed, full of amusing stereotypes that are sometimes almost real characters. Shit, there I go again. . . I give up. I'm going to write an Ann Coulter review. (less)

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Nov 27, 2012 Hanne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Hanne by: Fantasy Book Club Series

Shelves: fantasy, favourites, shelf-a-ton-13, fantasy-aficionados-100, books-make-brilliant-gifts

Vengeance... it's unpredictable, unplannable and never really satisfying. Especially when revenge becomes a race. I have 7 to go, and because of what i do, you now have 7 to go. They say revenge is best served cold, they say revenge is bittersweet. And hardly anything bittersweet is worth a damn when it's cold (except Gini and Schweppes Bitter Lemon perhaps).

This book is not bittersweet though. This book is fabulous. Well-constructed, remarkable character building, and not predictable at all. I...more
Vengeance... it's unpredictable, unplannable and never really satisfying. Especially when revenge becomes a race. I have 7 to go, and because of what i do, you now have 7 to go. They say revenge is best served cold, they say revenge is bittersweet. And hardly anything bittersweet is worth a damn when it's cold (except Gini and Schweppes Bitter Lemon perhaps).

This book is not bittersweet though. This book is fabulous. Well-constructed, remarkable character building, and not predictable at all. I will gladly admit to being surprised at turn of events on multiple occasions.
About 50 pages from the end, I started to fear for a while that i might not like the ending; (view spoiler)

Though the theme of the book is heavy, and there is still a lot of plotting, murder and war; it definitely doesn't read all that heavy. Abercrombie wrote in a few characters that make everything lighter. Morveer is a just comical character, especially together with Day; Cosca is simply fabulous. They make the whole journey a lot more agreable, and acceptable for a wider audience than perhaps the first law trilogy.

Abercrombie's character-building is again beyond impressive. Maybe even more so than in the First Law trilogy. In the latter one he took an entire book to do so, in this stand-alone novel he had to do it quick. And boy, did he pull it off!
Monza really got me wrapped around her little finger. Morveer: comical, arrogant, slightly pathetic, the kind of person i would hate in real-life; but i loved reading about him. Day: brilliant minor character. Friendly, slightly obsessed with numbers and i suspect slightly autistic, i felt so bad for him when (view spoiler).

And then of course, there is Cosca. He really is in a league of his own:

"You should laugh every moment you live, for you'll find it decidedly difficult afterwards"

"I'm Nicomo Cosca, famed soldier of fortune, and I am here for dinner"

Ishri: "And what do you think God's plan is general Cosca?"
Cosca: "I have long suspected that it might be to annoy me."

"Have a smile for breakfast, you'll be shitting joy for lunch"(less)

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Sep 15, 2010 Hazel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Abercrombie is excellent! I stumbled upon this at the library, and meant to leave it until next week, after I'd finished the books on my bedside table. But I took a peek at the first page, and was drawn in. Benna Murcatto Saves a Life was a near-perfect first chapter, and I couldn't resist. I should be sleeping, but I've just finished part 1, and I need to know what happens next...

Okay, no spoilers.
Fabulous beginning, got a bit saggy in the midddle (as you do), and then ran out of steam at the e...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Story: 4/5

1: Being Vague, rambling plot with no little believable storyline
5: Ripping yarn, clever, thought provoking

Abercrombie once again comes up with a ripping yarn that keeps you completely immersed in the story from the strangely disturbing start to the almost expected ending.
I read this book after the First Law series, whilst it is easily classed as a stand alone in the story, some knowledge of the First Law series will give you a interesting back story to put certain aspects in perspec...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Gaby rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't jump right into reading ”Best Served Cold” after finishing the author's First Law trilogy, and now I can remember why. Reading Abercrombie simply leaves me emotionally drained. I very masochistically put myself through the experience because afterwards, once I've let myself cool down, I realize it was worth it. Still, these books are not for everyone. It's not just that they're violent, gory, unpredictable, and full of frustratingly flawed characters- it's that they leave you off (or at...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourite-authors, standalone-novels

Best Served Cold has a particularly gripping start, as Monza and her brother are the victims of an assanation attempt, successful on him, but not so much on our female leading character. After she recovers, Monza vows vengeance on everyone who had a part to play in the botched killing. This novel follows her as she carries out her vengeance.

After the romping ride that was The First Law trilogy, I found myself strangely disappointed with Best Served Cold. Don't get me wrong, everything I love abo...more

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Sep 15, 2010 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-dark

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm waffling between three and four stars for this book.

And it is impossible to say without giving away spoilers, darn it!

Joe Abercrombie has a reputation of writing books that are good but that are populated with deeply flaw characters, characters who are unheroic. He somewhat does it again here.

As two of the reviews my GR friends have pointed out, the second half of this book isn't as good as the first.

The story starts out as a strict revenger story. Monza is a general of a for hire army. She...more I'm waffling between three and four stars for this book.

And it is impossible to say without giving away spoilers, darn it!

Joe Abercrombie has a reputation of writing books that are good but that are populated with deeply flaw characters, characters who are unheroic. He somewhat does it again here.

As two of the reviews my GR friends have pointed out, the second half of this book isn't as good as the first.

The story starts out as a strict revenger story. Monza is a general of a for hire army. She and her brother get betrayed by thier subordinates as well as the man who hired them. They neglected to kill her properly (is anyone besides me tired of this overused bad guy cliche? Honestly, you want some dead, you make sure they're dead. You don't tie them to the table, spill the beans, and then leave while the death is going to kill them. You kill them.)

Hence, her desire for revenge.

The revenge is bloody, and it is hard not to think of comparsions to Kill Bill, Magnificent Seven or The Dirty Dozen. Monza hires a bunch of killers who cannot be trusted and wrecks bloody minded revenge. Of close, this is a slightly better than avenge revenge tale so Monza realizes things about blood and war.

Yet, that also seems to be part of the problem. It isn't so much that Monza learns about the true nature of revenge; it's that Abercrombie seems to wimp out on her character. "See, she really isn't that hard; it was all her brother's fault!" Perhaps that rings to the morality amibiguity, but it also feels like a coop out. Not only does she want revenge, the man she is avenging isn't worth the time let alone the effort.

In some ways, that make the book like a Lifetime movie.

Additionally, while some plot points work well, like Cosca's non death (the man is larger than life), others, especially at the end, do not. The true nature of Shenkt seems like a very poor plot point. A thousand of other endings would have been better (see other reviews, but I also like the Shivers becomes murderer option). It just sounds like Abercrombie didn't want to be too harsh because of the sex of the central character, especially when the central character is a little flat. Cosca, Friendly, amnong others, seems more alive.(less)

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Mar 02, 2011 MMOGC rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

3.5 stars. I liked it! But I'm rounding down however to show that I didn't like it as much as The First Law trilogy. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I knew that right away. First of all, I dove in knowing it was going to be tale of revenge, given the title and all, but I realized not long after I started the book that the story itself wasn't going to go that much farther beyond that concept.

That said, it did give the book a clear direction. I may have enjoyed the story more in The Firs...more 3.5 stars. I liked it! But I'm rounding down however to show that I didn't like it as much as The First Law trilogy. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I knew that right away. First of all, I dove in knowing it was going to be tale of revenge, given the title and all, but I realized not long after I started the book that the story itself wasn't going to go that much farther beyond that concept.

That said, it did give the book a clear direction. I may have enjoyed the story more in The First Law for its intricacy, but I can still appreciate a straightforward tale of vengeance every once in a while. Probably won't come as a surprise to anyone that in many instances, Best Served Cold reminded me of the Kill Bill movies -- a woman is betrayed by the man she admires and loves, he murders the only family she knows, and she sets off to take revenge on him and all of his cronies.

This novel started out very strong, but I have to admit I felt it lost its steam somewhat towards the end. Maybe by then I was starting to get tired of the violence and killing. I don't have any problems with reading about war, blood and gore, but too much of it can get a bit tedious. By the time the final epic climatic battle rolled around, I was sad to realize that I was already all worn out. Thus the ending became a little less special in my eyes.

So it might not have the most elegant plotline, but after meeting all the main players, I just knew that it was going to be the relationships between the characters, and not the story, that will make this novel shine for me. Joe Abercrombie has a knack for writing the most bizarre characters. But as strange as they are, I somehow still manage to connect to them -- probably because I find them all so fascinating. That may be the only reason, since most of Abercrombie's characters are always so flawed, crooked and lacking in redeeming qualities!

And speaking of characters, I was happy to see some familiar names I'd gotten to know from The First Law books. They were all supporting characters in that trilogy, and it's nice to see a couple of them like Shivers or Cosca take center stage in this novel. Knowing this, I'd probably recommend readers who are interested into checking out Joe Abercrombie's stuff to start at The Blade Itself and work through the other two books before diving into Best Served Cold. This book is a standalone novel on its own, but I feel the extra knowledge into the background and history of the world and people will make the reading experience more enjoyable. (less)

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Sep 06, 2011 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 stars.

I really enjoy a lot of things about Abercrombie's writing, and I enjoyed this book too...just not nearly as much as the First Law Trilogy (which, for the uninitiated, begins with The Blade Itself). One thing I love in his writing is his gritty, painful, raw descriptions of violence. I'm not a fan of gratuitous violence, nor am I a teenager with any kind of violence fetish--much the opposite, really. I'm a 30-something English teacher who is averse to anger and who likes us all to get...more 3.5 stars.

I really enjoy a lot of things about Abercrombie's writing, and I enjoyed this book too...just not nearly as much as the First Law Trilogy (which, for the uninitiated, begins with The Blade Itself). One thing I love in his writing is his gritty, painful, raw descriptions of violence. I'm not a fan of gratuitous violence, nor am I a teenager with any kind of violence fetish--much the opposite, really. I'm a 30-something English teacher who is averse to anger and who likes us all to get along. But, I do have a kernel in me that likes a bit of good violence once in a while, and Abercrombie delivers in spades. I've never hurt for a character in a book like I did for those in the First Law Trilogy and Best Served Cold...but less so in Best Served Cold.

And there was the rub for me. I just didn't care about the characters as much here. The book felt less tightly-written than his trilogy, and, at 880 pages, it's a long sucker. The first third to half was strong, and the last 50 pages or so were pretty good, but it dragged in the second half, especially the hundred or so pages before the final 50. Lastly, a lot of the plot "twists" were entirely predictable, and I don't usually even try to catch those kinds of things in books (movies, yes; books, not often). In this case, I didn't have to try. Without giving anything away, there were at least three or four "big" instances (meaning they spanned large chunks of the book, rather than occurring over a few pages) in which he was clearly trying to establish one expectation before revealing its opposite to be true, but I could plainly see that intention almost as soon as it began being established. This didn't necessarily make the book less enjoyable, on one level, but it's always a little disappointing when that happens.

Overall, it's an enjoyable book, but I definitely recommend the First Law Trilogy over this as an introduction to Abercrombie. I'm certainly still looking forward to The Heroes as well...it's sitting on my shelf, but it'll have to wait while I plow through some other books first. (less)

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Sep 27, 2012 Ithlilian marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: fantasy

When I heard that there was a new book in the same world as the First Law Trilogy I was excited. Then, I heard it was grittier and more violent than the trilogy and I was overjoyed. Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. The characters didn't have the depth of the characters from the first law, and they just didn't interest me. The plot of the novel is very simple and obvious: revenge. The group of misfits go from one town to another, plotting for two pages, then executing their plan, whic...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Lightreads rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

Revenge fantasy, and by ‘fantasy’ I mean the swords and sorce—okay, no, just the swords kind. And maces and axes and a lot of knives. This is that new millennium brand of epic fantasy, you know the kind that dropped all the nebulously old-fashioned dialogue and portentous prophecies for a lot of fucking and people calling each other cocksucker in gritty patois. It’s supposed to be more real or something. I dunno, I don’t think I identify any extra with a woman bent on killing the seven people wh...more

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Jun 08, 2010 Kat Hooper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I listened to Tantor Media’s audio version which was read by the excellent Michael Page. This was a great format except for one chapter (“To the Victors…”) in which Mr. Abercrombie meant for us to be surprised by who the principal actors were. In the text, section breaks indicate scene (and therefore character) changes. The audiobook reader, however, used the voices for the characters that Mr. Abercrombie meant for us to think were involved. When the trick...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I listened to Tantor Media’s audio version which was read by the excellent Michael Page. This was a great format except for one chapter (“To the Victors…”) in which Mr. Abercrombie meant for us to be surprised by who the principal actors were. In the text, section breaks indicate scene (and therefore character) changes. The audiobook reader, however, used the voices for the characters that Mr. Abercrombie meant for us to think were involved. When the trick was revealed, Mr. Page switched voices. This was confusing, especially since a listener can’t see the section breaks and realize that the scene kept changing. I had to go back and listen to it again. This wasn’t Mr. Page’s fault, though — just a limitation of the audio format. Other than this scene, the reading was terrific. I was impressed with the way that Mr. Page portrayed Shivers’ character development by subtly altering his voice as the story went on.

Speaking of characters, Shivers and Monza, the main characters (I don’t think we can call them “heroes”), evolve so gradually and realistically throughout the story that they are both quite changed at the end, but in a completely believable way. Looking back at their journeys is an interesting (and somewhat disturbing) thought exercise. It was fun to meet several familiar faces from The First Law trilogy. Greg was right — I just loved Nicomo Cosca. He’s complex, witty, and unpredictable. Nice piece of work, Mr. Abercrombie! Several of the characters are so keenly characterized that they become over-the-top (e.g., Morveer the poisoner keeps asking the same annoying questions of his assistant who is constantly eating) but at least they’re vivid. Friendly, the sociopathic savant, is so creepy that I actually got nervous every time he appeared.

Best Served Cold has an exciting plot and it’s clever and funny — mostly in the droll, ironic, black humor sort of way. For example, Monza pulls Cosca out of alcoholism… so he can murder people. Some of the scenes in which Morveer was trying to poison somebody bordered on slapstick and provided some hilarity to balance the story’s grimness.

I enjoyed the plot, characters, and humor in Best Served Cold, and I recognize and admire Joe Abercrombie’s talent, creativity, and passion. But the truth is that his stories stress me out. It’s sort of like watching Schindler’s List. Brilliant movie, important message, but not something I want to watch before bedtime. There’s a lot of ugliness and vulgarity — much of which seems to be done for shock value (e.g., cannibalism and incest) — and there are more characters who are sociopaths than who are normal. If there’s a crude word for something, Abercrombie uses it. Characters are constantly pissing, spitting, growling, bleeding, feeling sticky, and sucking on their sour teeth. They --- (due to some bad language, I edited this out. Please see my review at FanLit if you want to read this part)--- (as far as I can tell, Mr. Abercrombie doesn’t know the polite terms). Battle and torture scenes are the worst — they literally give me headaches.

All of this makes for interesting, original, dramatic fantasy, and I completely understand why it’s so appealing. After all, Joe Abercrombie at least makes me FEEL something. But what he makes me feel is rather depressed, hopeless, and just plain icky, and I can’t say that I really LIKE feeling that way.(less)

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Dec 22, 2009 Justin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, fantasy

Joe Abercrombie is a master of his trade, and his trade is dark fantasy. He is becoming the standard bearer for gritty realistic fantasy, and Best Served Cold might well be the masterpiece that represents that sub-genre. Monza Murcatto is a renowned and very successful mercenary, or was…till she was stabbed, beaten and thrown from a mountain side by her employer. Best Served Cold tells the tale of Monza and her quest for revenge. Monza contracts a party of unsavory characters to aid her in her r...more Joe Abercrombie is a master of his trade, and his trade is dark fantasy. He is becoming the standard bearer for gritty realistic fantasy, and Best Served Cold might well be the masterpiece that represents that sub-genre. Monza Murcatto is a renowned and very successful mercenary, or was…till she was stabbed, beaten and thrown from a mountain side by her employer. Best Served Cold tells the tale of Monza and her quest for revenge. Monza contracts a party of unsavory characters to aid her in her revenge quest. The story goes from dark to black to “a wet match in the bottom of a dark cave”. Everyone suffers, lots of people die, the trail of blood and tragedy that Monza leaves in her wake is unprecedented. Abercrombie takes what appears to be a simple tale of revenge and twists it into a sanguine journey of self discovery on the part of each character. No other author I’ve found works so hard to create likeable characters out of such nasty individuals

The book is exceedingly well written, so much so that I have really no other option but to give this book 5 stars. It really is an amazing work. Reading his work is always bitter sweet for me. I know I’m going to get an amazing story, with unique characters told in a way that only Abercrombie is able to pull off. All the wonderful writing comes with a price for the reader. The price is that it changes you a little, it’s altered my perception of what fantasy can be. Before reading Abercrombie I was blissfully unaware of how truly brutal and tragic fantasy as a medium can be. Sure there is George R.R. Martin and his love of killing off main characters, but these books are different. In Martin’s work I never had any doubt that I was observing the story from the outside. With Abercrombie he makes it a point to bring you there. I feel the character’s spirit break in the hands of the torturer. I know the person that was on page 112 is now someone else on page 113, and it makes me sad. There is no redemption, no “making it up” later…they’ve simply changed. It’s a very real and unsettling thing to experience as a reader, and it’s a feeling that’s not commonly found in fantasy. The heart of Best Served Cold is how Abercrombie strips our “heroes” down to their core and reveals with in them who they truly are.

I have a love hate relationship with Abercrombie’s books. I will most certainly continue to read them, they are just too incredible not to. I will be sure to keep something exceedingly happy to read right afterwards. Best Served Cold is technically a stand alone novel, but I would highly recommend reading The First Law Trilogy prior to this since I get the feeling of an overall “Big Picture” taking place in this world. Read this book if you are ready to have your thoughts on fantasy challenged. Do not read this book if you like your fantasy to be a pleasant escape from the harsh realities of life. -JB
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Mar 03, 2011 Collin rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book reads like a D&D session gone horribly, horribly wrong... And that's a good thing. Maybe it's more of a commentary on who I hang out with but as I was reading this grim, swords-and-revenge story I was repeatedly reminded of late Saturday nights spent backstabbing party members for the last piece of treasure. I love how over the top and crazy the set-pieces in this story get. It's essentially a caper/revenge movie with a Dirty Dozen-esque cast of hard-bitten killers and mercenaries,...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Rodolfo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This was an excellent read...Blood, guts, vengeance, betrayal,hints of incest (ewww gross). Lots going on in this book. There really aren't any characters to like in this story, only to relate to on various occasions. They are all back stabbing, money grubbing, lying bastards....damn, what a good story. The world takes a back seat to the characters. Every one of them interesting and pull their weight. Lots of surprises and excellent dialogue. I found myself laughing out loud through out. Abercro...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Deb rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-book, own-it

I really liked this. I was drawn into caring about the characters, and their relationships with each other. Only thing that stopped me rating it "Amazing" is that I wasn't left "in love with" any of the characters... I was good mates with them, but it didn't break my heart to put the book down, and, yes, that's something I look for in a book.
Really worth reading, though. And I really, really liked it... perhaps even worth a 4.5 stars from me, but I don't like to diminish my 5-star ratings. Yes,...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Enrique028 added it

Probably one of the toughest books I have ever had to read. It is an Unfinished Business and will probably finish it some other time but If you feel like the book you are reading is not leaving you with anything, not gaining or enjoying anything from it , I do not think you should read it or sadly finish it. It would not have been a problem if the book itself would have been 364 pages shorter, which in my opinion is it biggest pitfall. Full of un-charismatic, un-sympathetic characters it is hard...more Probably one of the toughest books I have ever had to read. It is an Unfinished Business and will probably finish it some other time but If you feel like the book you are reading is not leaving you with anything, not gaining or enjoying anything from it , I do not think you should read it or sadly finish it. It would not have been a problem if the book itself would have been 364 pages shorter, which in my opinion is it biggest pitfall. Full of un-charismatic, un-sympathetic characters it is hard to keep up the already simple but boring pace. I did not care who died and when if they did and although I gave it time to take off it did not do it and ket repeating itself in format and idea. The plot is already simple enough : Revenge over a dead brother by killing the seven men involved. The execution thou is rather poorly : horse riding thru seven kingdom-cities to kill these men. And we see the horse riding and the killing times 7 in unfashionable ways [well I only got to see 4 up to this time]. The main character of the books, Monza is so lacking on everything...come on....I have read about hard-arses and cold as ice and horrible main characters that at least you empathise with them in way way or another but Monza is...dead as far as an interesting character could be. Then she is taking revenge on a brother who we find out during the 368 pages I got to read was a mean, spoiled and horribly ambitious person...not even a nice thing to say about him. And on top she get herself her own revenge army in the form of 6 middle of the road and dispensable people that they wouldn't make a difference to the story if they were or not in it. Then, maybe some people that read this kind of book [Fantasy-ish] get off on sexual details of the characters but when you take 8-10 pages to describe some really crude sexual exploits [and I am far far from being prude] it turns into filling with no reasoning. Perhaps Mr Abercrombie's other books are better, I hope they are but for me it is the debut and goodbye!(less)

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Mar 23, 2013 Ethan rated it 4 of 5 stars

What would happen if Quentin Tarantino wrote Kill Bill as a medieval fantasy? "Best Served Cold" answers that question and then some.

Joe Abercrombie will frequently be lumped in with George R.R. Martin in modern "amoral" fantasy, and the comparison is fairly apt - both love twisty plots, multiple narrator characters, and highly explicit sex and violence. Actually, Abercrombie has even more of a taste for gore than Martin, to the extent that it's actually a bit OTT at times.

The basic set up finds...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Abercrombie's heroine this time is Monza Murcatto, a noted mercenary who's brought her employer Duke Orso too many victories.

Afraid of her influence with the public, he betrays her and her brother. He and six other men see her stabbed, beaten and thrown down a mountain to die, saved only because she falls on her brother's body.

But someone rescues her and half-way heals her. Revenge consumes her. Luckily she has a hidden fortune to call upon. Because someone's going to pay.

I was a tad disappointe...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Mariachiara rated it 1 of 5 stars

Titolo: Best served cold (meglio servita fredda, sottointeso la vendetta)

Autore: Joe Abercrombie

Inedito in italiano

Trama: I mercenari sono una cosa fantastica: combattono come vuoi, contro chi vuoi e quando vuoi, e in cambio vogliono solo del semplice denaro. E la bella Monzcarro Mercatto, e suo fratello (e amante) Benna Mercatto, sono i più bravi, popolari e ricchi mercenari della Styria… ma essere ricchi e popolari mercenari può non essere una bella cosa. Anzi può essere molto pericoloso. E’ p...more Titolo: Best served cold (meglio servita fredda, sottointeso la vendetta)

Autore: Joe Abercrombie

Inedito in italiano

Trama: I mercenari sono una cosa fantastica: combattono come vuoi, contro chi vuoi e quando vuoi, e in cambio vogliono solo del semplice denaro. E la bella Monzcarro Mercatto, e suo fratello (e amante) Benna Mercatto, sono i più bravi, popolari e ricchi mercenari della Styria… ma essere ricchi e popolari mercenari può non essere una bella cosa. Anzi può essere molto pericoloso. E’ proprio per questo che il Grande Duca Orso di Styria, il loro mecenate, organizza il loro assassinio. Teme che con la loro popolarità, il loro esercito e la loro bravura come combattenti un giorno tentino di rubargli il trono, mentre in realtà i due sognano solo di ritirarsi a vivere finalmente in pace, da ricchi signori.

Il loro omicidio è un grave errore tattico del Duca, anche perchè Monzcarro , la più temibile e la vera combattente dei due, sopravvive all’attentato. Un segaossa la salva e sperimenta su di lei il suo nuovo metodo di sistemare le ossa…un metodo abbastanza effettivo ma talmente doloroso da far desiderare la morte. Zoppa, con una mano menomata, migliaia di cicatrici, un dolore permanente e un’assefuazione all’oppio Monzcarro è viva e desidera solo una cosa: vendetta contro coloro che l’hanno tradita, i sette uomini che hanno ucciso suo fratello. Il suo piano è semplice ucciderli uno ad uno e nel modo più doloroso possibile.

La mia opinione: Iniziamo col dire che la trama ricorda un poco Kill bill, come costruzione. Il libro si apre con lei che viene ridotta in fin di vita e si salva miracolosomente solo perchè il corpo senza vita del fratello la protegge lievemente dalla caduta nel dirupo, ma è comunque più un inseme di ossa rotte che un essere umano. Poi la vediamo soffrire le pene dell’inferno col segaossa. E poi iniziare il suo piano di vendetta e di omicidi. Similitudini sono indubbie, ma il tono del racconto è molto più cupo, manca l’ironia tarantiniana. E’ tutto dolore, sofferenza, vendetta e i personaggi sono sempre pieni di difetti. Sì, ci sono momenti dove possono dimostrare un poco di umanità, protagonista compresa, e se è ciò che è è anche colpa di tutto ciò che l’ha plasmata (abbiamo dei flashback che ci mostrano come lei e il fratello dopo morte e stenti sono diventati mercenari), quindi in un certo senso possiamo comprendere il motivo di questo circolo di violenza, il fatto è che non c’è redenzione nè fine alla violenza, e ogni personaggio è comunque colpevole di vizi e peccati, nessuno è buono e nessuno è innocente. Ciò di cui ho sentito la mancanza in quetso libro è apunto la speranza. Ora tutta questa crudezza e violenza è certamente un modo di dipingere in modo verosimile il mondo barbarico che Abercrombie dipinge, e lui ha protagonisti guerrieri che vivono di guerra, perciò è naturale che ci sia così tanta violenza, ma per me è stata decisamente troppa.

I punti di vista cambiano durante il racconto, e uno di loro è di un uomo abituato ad usare le mani, che dal Nord del Paese scende al Sud per cercare di cambiare vita. Vuole vivere in pace e non più uccidere. Pur di seguire questo nuovo credo ha persino rinunciato a vendicare il fratello, poi però la miseria e l’incontro con la protagonista e la sua voglia di vvendetta a poco a poco lo cambiano.

E di nuovo lo scrittore ci dice non c’è redenzione. Monzcarro avrà la sua vendetta ma finirà quasi per diventare un nuovo Duca Orso, e il circolo di violenza riprenderà, senza fine apparente, anche se il libro si chiude con lei che invece di uccidere colui che l’ha tradita, lo risparmia…..eppure nemeno questo riesce a dare speranza al letttore o comunque a ripagarlo di tutte le illusioni di morale o bontà che ha perso durante la lettura.

Questo autore, Abercrombie, è molto famoso in America, e piace davvero molto. Scrive bene, in modo molto dietto e semplice senza perdersi in descrizioni, c’è solo azione e i protagonisti che vengono descritti crudamente in ogni loro disiderio meschino e difetto, o anche con i loro rari momenti di moralità o stupidità. Nessuno si salva, tutti hanno colpe sulle loro spalle spesso gravissime. Questo viene visto dai ipù come capacità di descrivere crudamente la sua realtà, ma io lo vedo come un nero pessismismo e come una visione veramente denigratoria dell’essere umano. Mi ha depresso devo ammattere. E’ stato comparato a G.R.R. Martin, ma Martin è molto più fantasy di lui, lui ha tutto un suo mondo ben costruito e la sua violenza non è cos’ gratuita, i suoi personaggi hanno più codice morale, o almeno più lati positivi che non quelli di Abercrombie, che tra l’altro non dcdescrive mai bene il mondo fantasy che ha creato, perchè nella sua narrazione non è poi così centrale. I personaggi lo sono e la violenza, che potrebbero essere collocati sulla luna così come nel nstro Afghanistan, tanto la guerra è sempre stupida senza senso o ragione e mostruosa ovunque accada.

Concludendo, la domanda fatidica è: lo consiglio?

Solo se la trama vi attira, e se amate svisceratamente i film di guerra e cruenti. Probabilmente è un genere di libro più maschile che non femminile.
(less)

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Jan 18, 2013 Joe Noir rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-fantasy

This is not a Tolkein, Brooks, Donaldson type of fantasy. Some readers may find it similar to George R.R. Martin. I would describe it as The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Wild Bunch, combined with Serie Noire fiction, and set in a world reminiscient of renaissance Italy. The author describes it as "unheroic fantasy". A dark, grim, bloody thriller, this is a most violent yet supremely entertaining novel. One could read many novels, across all genres, and never find another female character as st...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is Joe Abercrombie's followup to his First Law trilogy, which I read a little while ago. It's a tale of revenge and redemption, in which a mercenary captain, betrayed by her employer, seeks revenge on the seven men who betrayed her. It is set in Styria, a land distant from the main action of the previous books, a few years after the first series, so there isn't too much direct effect from the events of the first story in this one.

It suffers from a common flaw of followups to popular trilogi...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Joe Abercrombie is doing modern fantasy literature right.

The biggest complaint of the fantasy lit we grew up with was its bombastic, ponderous nature--drab language, predictable plots, the same tropes over and over and over again. Abercrombie is in the process of turning the genre on its head, though, telling lean, nasty, fun yarns that nod to the old and bring about a modern sensibility and sense of self-awareness to the entire endeavor.

Best Served Cold is the first standalone book set in Abe...more Joe Abercrombie is doing modern fantasy literature right.

The biggest complaint of the fantasy lit we grew up with was its bombastic, ponderous nature--drab language, predictable plots, the same tropes over and over and over again. Abercrombie is in the process of turning the genre on its head, though, telling lean, nasty, fun yarns that nod to the old and bring about a modern sensibility and sense of self-awareness to the entire endeavor.

Best Served Cold is the first standalone book set in Abercrombie's ongoing semi-medieval, sword and sorcery fantasy world. While his original trilogy turned the standard issue fantasy epic on its head, Best Served Cold takes it down a notch, crafting what is essentially a classic crime and revenge caper story set in a colorfully crass fantasy world.

I could go into the plot or characterizations a bit, but what really needs to be mentioned is how uproariously funny Abercrombie is. This is, I think, what sets his work apart from the rest of the genre--he is very aware of how ludicrous fantasy is, and he is not afraid to wink at the audience and let us in on the joke. "Best" doesn't have the "oh my god I can't believe that just happened" level of violent comedy that his trilogy had, but, in removing the heaviness of the fantasy epic story arc, the book reads almost like a particularly dark Elmore Leonard book, complete with sharp dialogue, moments of violence and comedy masterfully juxtaposed, and the sort of ending where everyone gets what they deserve, good or bad.

For followers of Abercrombie's series, there's a few notable returning secondary characters from the original series, namely Caul Shivers, the lost Northman trying to find his way in the world, and Nicomo Cosca, the drunken mercenary general, here as a sort of aged, world-weary fantasy world Jack Sparrow. He's a bit overexposed, as scene stealers tend to be, but when the book hits its slow points--and there are a few--it's good to have Cosca's wit to elevate things again.

Best Served Cold is a bit of a transitionary book--it's not as vast or well-paced as the original trilogy, and Abercrombie takes a significant leap forward in his complexity and depth in his follow up book, The Heroes. Still, fans of his writing shouldn't miss this mad little caper. It's well worth the ride. (less)

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Aug 05, 2012 Michelle rated it 1 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. I lost sleep because I was so intrigued and needed to read more. Which is why it is such a shame that the novel started dragging so much in the middle. Now I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book and I just can't make myself pick it back up again.

Long story short: One of only a few books I will pick up and not finish. Yeah... out of the hundreds of books I have read, I can only count the number of books I have not finished on one hand. Very disappo...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Brooke Banks rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, written-reviews

If you liked the trilogy, you will most likely love this book. It's much of the same, except amplified. More awesome fight scenes, more gore, a bit darker, still funny, well done characters that drive the story and progress. You won't meet many people from the trilogy in
this book, certainly none of the main characters. There are throw away
mentions of things that are going on elsewhere but that's all. I liked the fact that this book dealt with different people in a different place in the world...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Ken T rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Monza Murcatto is looking for revenge. Betrayed the young and beautiful mercenary leader seeks revenge against her former employer, the severe Duke Orso, and six others, whom she holds responsible for her betrayal. Her determined pursuit of vengeance takes its toll not only on her victims, but on the men and women she employs to aid her, and her native Styria.

Abercrombie does another wonderful job, taking his readers on a jaunt through war-torn Styria. The scope of the book is at once sweeping...more Monza Murcatto is looking for revenge. Betrayed the young and beautiful mercenary leader seeks revenge against her former employer, the severe Duke Orso, and six others, whom she holds responsible for her betrayal. Her determined pursuit of vengeance takes its toll not only on her victims, but on the men and women she employs to aid her, and her native Styria.

Abercrombie does another wonderful job, taking his readers on a jaunt through war-torn Styria. The scope of the book is at once sweeping and narrow in that it examines the way vengeance and violence transforms the central characters set against a backdrop of warfare and political upheaval. Abercrombie introduces the reader to a host of intriguing and disturbing characters as Monza cuts a bloody swath across Styria. But while her thirst for vengeance begins the tale, the central plot line is vengeance in general. Every character in the book is out to settle one score or another. Bloody vengeance smears each page practically as characters are stabbed, smashed, poisoned, annihilated, and hurled to their deaths. But it is not merely gratuitous violence. Abercrombie takes time to consider how the pursuit of vengeance mars his characters, who struggle with their choices and their consequences.

Be warned, however, that the story does take a bit of time to find its legs. The first quarter of the book is extremely dark and a bit depressing (although that is natural given how events begin). However, once you crest the halfway point, it is hard to put the book down. Old and new characters parade across the pages and are drawn inevitably into fatal conflicts. The reader almost needs a scorecard to keep track of who is betraying whom and why, but Abercrombie does a fine job of keeping all the lines of revenge straight and he does it while still - somehow - being able to inject humor into what otherwise is a murderous mess.

My only qualms with Abercrombie's book - and with most of his works - are the light touch he gives to scenery and some of his pacing. In the case of his scenery, I do not mean descriptions of scenes, but descriptions of the world - technology, cultural aspects and so forth. He is very good at quoting fictionalized works or describing works of art in his book, but I found myself having to picture Renaissance Italy to fill in some of the gaps for the struggle in Styria (and I do not doubt that this was Abercrombie's model). At times I struggled with small things like modes of dress or artwork that seemed out of place in a narrative with some rather primitive settings. It does not really detract from the narrative, but it is a bit distracting.

The other problem is his habit of rushing through intervening scenes to reach a climatic scene. For example (I will disguise the spoilers), toward the end of the book a character tries to enter a military camp and succeeds with ridiculous ease not because it is believable, but because Abercrombie needs the character to be in a certain room for a showdown. I can forgive his haste in most cases, though, because Abercrombie is a master at the climatic scene. Even when I am pretty sure I know how things will turn out I press on, my eyes unable to turn away from some horrible turn of fate.

Enjoy!

(less)

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Jul 23, 2012 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

I gather this is a stand-alone book set in the same world as the well received First Law trilogy (The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, The Last Argument Of Kings), but I hadn't read any of those, or anything else by Abercrombie, prior to picking this up. I was drawn to the book by a review that emphasized how it was a dark and gritty alternative to standard fantasy epics. My taste in fantasy always ran toward the darkly humorous stuff like Fritz Leiber's Newhon stories, rather than the epic...more I gather this is a stand-alone book set in the same world as the well received First Law trilogy (The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, The Last Argument Of Kings), but I hadn't read any of those, or anything else by Abercrombie, prior to picking this up. I was drawn to the book by a review that emphasized how it was a dark and gritty alternative to standard fantasy epics. My taste in fantasy always ran toward the darkly humorous stuff like Fritz Leiber's Newhon stories, rather than the epic Game of Thrones-type sagas, so this sounded like it might appeal. I didn't realize that although the story starts down in the gutters (almost literally), the plot is heavily geared toward the stuff of nations and regime change.

It revolves around the notoriously bloodthirsty mercenary Captian Murcatto, who is lured into a trap by her employer and tossed off a cliff. She miraculously survives, and spends the next 600 pages exacting her revenge on those who conspired to kill her and her beloved (in ways that are rumored to be incestuous) brother. The initial part of this is kind of fun, as she must escape the person who nurses her to health, and assemble a band of hirelings to join her quest. It's the usual odd mix of types one might find in any quest-based adventure game or book: a fearsome Northern warrior down on his luck, an OCD-type ex-con who's handier with a blade than he appears, a master poisoner and apprentice, and one or two other former associates and allies. I gather from reviews that at least some of these appear in the First Law trilogy, which might explain why they sometimes feel a little thinly drawn here.

After about two-hundred pages of slogging toward revenge, the book starts to feel a bit tedious. Yes, the setup to each assassination is fairly different and fairly interesting, but like far too much fantasy and sci-fi, it just takes too long. Yes, the action scenes are quite vivid and well-described (and graphic!), but there are just too many of them. As the names start to get crossed off the list, both Murcatto and others start to wonder what the point of all the bloodshed is, and it's hard for the reader not to agree. It seems like the book is intended as a kind of meditation on the inefficiency and uselessness of revenge (one might even read it as a kind of commentary on the "War on Terror"), but that never really goes anywhere truly interesting.

Meanwhile, the story also pushes deep into the politics of the setting (Styria), and the jockeying for power by various grandees and pretenders. I suspect readers of the First Law trilogy would have gotten a whole lot more of this than me, since the book is said to be set about 4-5 years after the trilogy, and they would already be heavily invested in the setting. I found it very difficult to care about any of it after a while.(less)

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Apr 27, 2012 Christopher rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This is the book that pulled me in and made me a fan of Abercrombie! It works as a stand-alone book, but can also serve as an entry points into Abercrombie's others books (though I in hindsight, I recommend reading his books in their intended order).

This book is "low magic". It is basically a revenge story, in the style of military fantasy (i.e. small band of morally ambiguous characters on a mission). There are some supernatural/magical elements centered around some secondary characters. As a...more

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Mar 21, 2012 sologdin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: speculative, ruling-class-protagonist

Episodic & somewhat predictable. Touched a bit by the picaresque and the revenge tragedy, but ultimately distinguishable from both. Kinda annoying that everyone in the setting self-consciously re-affirms that "these are the Years of Blood." Seems like that's a designation that would come up only in historical writings long after the events have occurred.

Highly readable prose, and nice to have maps (though they're limited to the locales of the relevant city-states where the narrative unfolds)...more Episodic & somewhat predictable. Touched a bit by the picaresque and the revenge tragedy, but ultimately distinguishable from both. Kinda annoying that everyone in the setting self-consciously re-affirms that "these are the Years of Blood." Seems like that's a designation that would come up only in historical writings long after the events have occurred.

Highly readable prose, and nice to have maps (though they're limited to the locales of the relevant city-states where the narrative unfolds). I particularly enjoyed the poisoner's narrations.

Abercrombie continues to be self-derogating, having characters proclaim about the narrative that "you couldn't make it up" (493), "I've no character at all...I'm cut out of paper" (563), "everything was overdone like a scene from a lurid fantasy novel" (id.), "like bad actors in some cheap morality play" (564), and--my favorite--at the ending, a disappointed character asks, "So that's how it ends, is it? That's the ending?" (632). The poisoner, whose narrations I enjoy so much, is likewise described as someone who "spoke like a bad writer" (583). We're told "it's a fantasy, one can do as one pleases" (305). A character is accused of being "an author of cheap fantasies" (509). The most meditative self-derogation occurs upon some characters' discovery of the actions of our "poisoner-poet," "murder and metaphor combined" (572).

Good to see some characters from prior volumes return here--Cosca, Vitari, & Shivers most importantly. The novel develops the setting further and advances its timeline. Enjoyable very much in these respects. Setting development also proceeds through numerous quotations of various literary writers from within the setting (though chapter epigraphs are taken, with mixed effect, from our own literatures).

Our introspective barbarian of past volumes is replaced by a different sort, perhaps whose powers of reflection are somewhat limited, if not completely vacant:

"Fucking science, even worse'n magic" (410).
"Fucking banking, even worse'n science" (411).
"Fucking magic, even worse'n banking" (412).

Recommended for bloated balloons of braggadocio, ringmasters for the circus of murder, and juries of scum.(less)

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Monza and Benna?	6	137	Feb 09, 2013 11:48am
Fantasy Book Club...: * Best Served Cold VII- Talins--Final	20	77	Jan 14, 2013 11:53am
Fantasy Book Club...: * Best Served Cold VI-Ospria	10	33	Jan 10, 2013 12:03pm
Fantasy Book Club...: * Best Served Cold IV-Visserine	13	27	Jan 06, 2013 12:46pm
Fantasy Book Club...: * Best Served Cold V-Puranti	9	49	Nov 05, 2012 03:31pm
Fantasy Book Club...: * Best Served Cold III-Sipani	10	24	Nov 05, 2012 01:16pm
Fantasy Book Club...: * Best Served Cold II-Westport	10	19	Oct 25, 2012 08:59am

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