The last line on the back of the book reads;
"The Empire owed them everything and gave them nothing. Now someone is going to pay."

That sounds like the beginning of a rebellion, doesn't it?
Like someone's pissed and seeking revenge?
Like someone has had enough of living off of a fading-hero status, of being spurned by their own family and society, of cheap fucks, of never meeting respect nor admiration, with no friends left to speak of?
Like someone is ready to take back what is theirs?
And that those someones are Ringil, Archeth and Egar?

Well, it's a lie. That's not what this book is about at all.
Or at least, it's a very twisted version of it.

It is about Ringil, Archeth and Egar, and how they live less-than-fulfilling lives that aren't about to get much better. And someone will pay, but not who you think, and the Empire has very little to do with it.

So basically you have no idea what's gonna happen! Yay! Of course sometimes that is the best way to start a book; by being completely misled and misinformed.

(The actual plot of the book is a lot better than what the back makes it out to be.)

Now, for the better part of the book I really didn't like Ringil, he seemed a rather ungrateful, unreflecting, bitter man. I know he has reasons for that, and sometimes I was completely on his side and felt his anger was justified, but more often than that, he just seemed very angry at nothing in particular. He has no qualms about sleeping with the enemy (literally), or killing whoever gets too much in his way; he's very straight to the point, and absolutely brutal, which is probably why his emotional side is so lacking.

However, I did end up admiring and, to some extent, liking him. He's a good man, at the heart of it, but also incredibly damaged. And he's a man who does not fully live up to his potential until you give him a sword and a battlefield, but given that he fucking shines.

There's this sort of moral 'greyzone' that everyone is in, Richard Morgan, through Ringil, says it himself;
"like symbolic characters from some irritatingly pompous morality-play whose original moral had somehow been scrambled and compromised and lost and was now, to audience and participants alike, anybody's fucking guess.

This greatly reminds me of R. Scott Bakkers books - they always have dark, almost black undertones and a strange sense of defeat, even when you win - while the writing style and language (and the beginning chapters of the book) reminds me of The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. It's a bit of an odd mix, but, like the other two, Richard Morgan makes it work.

I wasn't all giddy about this book, but I did greatly like it and it made me think.
It has some fantastic characters, that manage to be heroic, but human (to the extent that they actually are human) - characters that have already seen death and suffering, and aren't afraid of it, but want desperately to avoid it. It's a very nice touch having them be 'seasoned warriors' and cutting into their lives when they're about to hit a new low. It added a layer of bleakness and depth to it - and is a bit courageous, too, it can be so tempting to simply write about people at their most heroic and glorious, not their most damaged.

Adding to that is the surrounding world that, while being expertly formed and described, also echoes the prejudice and discrimination of our own time. It's not just a work of fantasy, it also contains a social commentary, and I love that! It touches very neatly and deftly on subjects such as race and sexual orientation. And it's not unclear what stance Richard Morgan takes; his choice of a gay man, a straight man and a gay, black woman as our protagonists is probably no coincidence. And still it never steals the show, it's simply there, as a constant reminder that we haven't changed one fucking bit, but we should. It's brilliant, really.

Okay, so this book is fantastic and I highly recommend it. It suffers a bit story-wise and seems to change lane half-way through with very little explanation, but aside from that; plain awesome and intelligent fantasy, with a shitload of stuff I love (swords! magic! other dimensional beings!) and very little I dislike. I am satisfied and will go hunt down the sequel asap.

Ps. Of course, the really GREAT question this book leaves us with is HOW THE HELL DO YOU FIGHT (WHILE NOT ON A HORSE) WITH A LANCE?