2014 Group Read discussions: Best Served Cold * Finished reading / What did you think?

[Brenda ╰☆╮]

Post here, if you finished reading Best Served Cold.

[Maggie]

I read this before, and loved the premise. I am a big fan of Abercrombie in general, and thought this was his best.

the notion of vengeance is never as fulfilling as we think it will be...

[Deano]

I read this a while back after reading Abercrombie's first three
This probably isn't quite as good as those
But close enough for me.
There's something about Abercrombie's writing that make the books more grounded than some fantasy.
Maybe it's because he is English and this comes out in the way he writes
It's less (epic blockbuster all American shinny shinny) and more (gritty, things don't always turn out the way you would like)
That being said I do like it as I'm English and it just resonates true to me.
Hope others enjoyed it and if they did check out his first law trilogy.
The characters are wonderfully thought out.

[Brian]

I finished this a few years ago. I enjoyed it, and I agree this might be his best work (but I haven't read Heroes yet.)

[J.M. (Joe)]

My preference of Abercrombie books are in this order:


• The Blade Itself
• Red Country
• Best Served Cold
• Argument of Kings
• Before They Are Hanged
• The Heroes

So BSC is definitely solid. Loved Monza's story, and enjoyed revisiting familiar faces from The First Law trilogy.

[Deano]

I have to agree that the heroes is my least fav
But the bit in it where I follows the killer to killer to killer... is such a great bit of writing

[mark]

There's something about Abercrombie's writing that make the books more grounded than some fantasy.

I think also due to a combination of lack of magic (for the most part) and a modern outlook on its characters, the heavy focus on the psychology behind why they are the people they are. Abercrombie also allows his characters the potential for change (sometimes for the worse) - I love that.

this was a really enjoyable book. I still prefer the First Law trilogy but I can see myself rereading this one. a lot of really enjoyable characters.

[David]

I liked this book. I was surprised to hear about his books described as Fantasy Westerns. It then dawned that some of the characters were similar to mountain men in some westerns. The books have gritty reality and very well written. When they Were Hanged was my favourite. However, at times I did wonder where the tales were going. they are very going and the plot can be lost amongst the writing. Glokta is about one of the best heroes/villains I have ever read. He is a great achievement.

[Kevin]

David wrote: "I liked this book. I was surprised to hear about his books described as Fantasy Westerns. It then dawned that some of the characters were similar to mountain men in some westerns. The books have gr..."

It's mainly Red Country which is described as a Fantasy Western, as Abercrombie intentionally mixed Wild West tropes with fantasy for that book.

[Greta]

I read this several months ago, but what I liked about it is how I keep rooting for characters to make positive change in their lives and keep getting the opposite result. This made Best Served Cold stand out from many of the books I have previously read. On the one hand it was very frustrating to see characters like Shivers turn so cold, but also very refreshing since happy endings can also be too predictable.

[David]

Kevin wrote: "David wrote: "I liked this book. I was surprised to hear about his books described as Fantasy Westerns. It then dawned that some of the characters were similar to mountain men in some westerns. The..."

I wasn't aware of the link until I heard. From your comment sounds like there are others. I'll have a look.

[Paul]

I have read all this series except Red Country I have been put off by the Western tag I thought all of the other books were excellent I loved the Bloody Nine and Shivers The Heroes was the book that stood out for me just because of all the battles I liked the fact that when he first introduces Bayaz you think here we go another Gandolf but as it turns he is a absolutely detestable character probably the villain of the books.

[Deano]

Don't be put off by western style
I don't think it has that much of a feel to it
And it does have some characters you know already.

[[deleted user]]

Best Served Cold was pretty cool, revenge doesn't really get much more brutal than that. At times I couldn't help imagining Monza and the guys like a twisted Ocean's team, in a Guy Ritchie movie to top it all. Some crazy, twisted stuff.

My favorite's definitely the anally-retentive poisoner. I just loved reading about the treacherous bastard. It's pretty great as a standalone, but it's not my favorite of the stand alones. That's most definitely The Heroes.