Reviews and Comments

I don’t know if the fault was the book’s or mine, but it took me a lot of effort to pass the two-thirds mark, after which I started going faster.

The ending felt a bit rushed, with some hand-wavy explanations and too much luck to be credible. In a way it’s deconstructing the myth of the prophesied hero, the One, etc., but on the other it’s building a lot of expectations for a finale that feels too little.

Some characters get more developed, which is nice.

I had loved The Blacktongue Thief but didn’t remember a lot from it. This book builds so much lore without being boring. There are some very original ideas.

The main character is not a talker and I would have liked a little more introspection on her part. It still avoids the “warriors insensitivity” you read in a lot of “realist” fantasy, and that’s nice. I also thought there were some issues with the rhythm but nothing too bad.

The setting is the Mediterranean at the end of the Middle Ages, if Carthage had won against Rome, if the Muslims had not conquered the Maghreb and Spain, if Jesus had been a woman, and if Europe had been threatened over the centuries by many elvish invasions. Oh, and magic happens.

The characters are well defined, but perhaps too close to DnD classes: the paladin, the sorcerer (no, the magician!), the cleric, the thief, the barbarian… So the whole adventure feels a bit like a ttrpg campaign.

On the other hand, Abercrombie is a master storyteller and I’m curious about what’s happening next for the company.

Short and dynamic, I would love to read more adventures in this world… but it’s also very good as-is.

I would very much like to know more about what China Mieville and Keanu Reeves both brought to the table.

Vraiment un délire de mec, vite lu et sans doute vite oublié

Re-read before reading Neom, by the same author, in the same universe