Revenge is a dish best served by Joe Abercrombie

My father suggested that I read Best Served Cold because of my interest and enjoyment of Game of Thrones. I have finally finished reading this revenge tale. Let me share with you some of my wonderful thoughts on this yarn.

Joe’s writing style is gory and dark. The character’s in his book are not super heroes. They may be skilled and they may be much better than the average soldier, but these guys still have to fear death and the way they act in the book makes that obvious.

See that girl in the image to the left? She’s the main character, Monza, and she is a bad ass in her mind. She’s a perfect example of someone with justification for her cause, but one that so many others see as a villain.

One of the things that I liked about this book is that it is a stand alone story. The setting that Abercrombie weaves through the tale is detailed, and by the end, I learned why. It is a stand alone, but it takes place in the same setting as his First Law Trilogy. That bastard got me! I wanted a stand alone so that I wouldn’t have another series to read, and now I want to read his other books!

Another element of this book that I liked is that it wasn’t really epic fantasy, despite its length. The book focuses on a much smaller cast of characters than most tomes of this size. I enjoyed getting to delve into those few characters and learn more and more details about them as the story went on. It reminded me a little bit of the way Lost told tales about its characters.

The break down into several distinct parts based on who Monza is seeking revenge upon is convenient. I actually put the book down for about two months for some other books and projects. When I picked it up, it was so easy to get back into. Just make sure that you stop at the beginning of a new Part and it’ll flow pretty easily.

Anyone that likes Gritty Fantasy will definitely get a kick out of this book. Pick it up, read it, put it down or don’t, but whatever you do, make sure you finish it.