When my father handed me this book, recommending it as my next read, I thought that it would be just another action-packed fantasy adventure that I’ve read a thousand times over, but this book surprised me with its depth and insightfulness.
“You have to have fear to have courage.”
Premise of the book:
When Logen finds himself alone in the North, he thinks that his luck is finally over and that he is as good as dead. Little did he know, his story had yet to begin.
Captain Jezal dan Luthar, an egotistical nobleman, has problems of his own as he trains to win a prestigious fencing competition, all while war looms in the North.
Inquisitor Glokta was once a man of glory, but now he is a torturer with a broken leg, nothing more than a lap dog for the nobles above him. His hate for everyone leads to him being a man of little popularity.
However, one day, a man by the name of Bayaz, who claims he is a powerful wizard called the First of the Magi, pulls these three men together. For better or for worse, these three men’s lives are going to change.
“But that was civilisation, so far as Logen could tell. People with nothing better to do, dreaming up ways to make easy things difficult.”
Pros/positives:
*World building*
The world-building in this story goes beyond amazing. It expands not only on the city we are actively in, which is Adua, the capital of the Union, but it also grows the whole world. We hear of problems in both the North and the South, and how it is affecting the lands. We learn of how the North is not only dealing with the threat of war, but it is also handling the deadly monsters called Shanka, who kill anyone who doesn’t kneel to the King of the North. Meanwhile, the South has major slave issues, while also dealing with the Gurkish Empire threatening the Union’s borders.
We even get to see the city of Adua from many different perspectives. We can view it through Jezal’s eyes, a man who’s lived there his whole life. He is familiar with the setting. The very first words we get in Jezal’s POV are talking about how it is “a beautiful spring day in Adua” (31), and later, when Jezal is running through the city, he calls it “a quiet afternoon” (37), even as he passes by several people. Meanwhile, when Logen arrives at the city, the first large city he’s been to, he finds it to be very overwhelming. Logen said Adua was “the strangest thing he had ever seen” (239), and when he walked, he “felt squeezed” (240) between all of the people. It shows the contrast of how a native versus a newcomer feels in the city.
All of these small details pull this world together to feel like more than just a fictional setting, but a real place.
*Politics*
The politics in this book kept me intrigued in the world as well. Each powerful figure had a vendetta against a different noble, creating vast tension throughout each political scene. This is another component that ties into the fleshed-out world-building. You could see within the city that there were different people who had separate opinions on what was right versus wrong. Religion mixed with people’s thoughts on magic, and each noble has control over a different group of people.
The gossip in this story was pretty juicy. I do appreciate when a fantasy book leans slightly into the political sense of things. The author lets the reader see the governmental set-up of the city, with how there is an Open and Closed Council and how the councils interact with one another, which was also intriguing to see.
*Characters*
This book spent a lot of time fleshing out each character, and the author did a great job in doing so. Each character had their own personalities, goals, and ambitions. We see how Jezal is an egocentric person who only wants to win the huge fencing contest to impress others. However, he has never had to work for anything in his life, so putting effort behind his training is hard for him. On the other hand, we get to look at Logen, a Northman who is just trying to survive and keep a clear head (or any head at all). Then there’s Glokta, who is a bitter and cold person. He misses the glorious life he had before he hurt his leg.
Even though these were the main characters, there were other characters we lightly followed as well. West is a man who tries to be compassionate and understanding, but he also wants to make his way up to the top, meaning he will have to become more cutthroat as he climbs the ranks.
The different POVs also allowed the reader to connect to each character we could follow, showing us their separate thoughts. I enjoyed how it expanded from the three main characters, showing the thoughts of other side characters, like West and Ferro. Each POV had its own tone. For example, Glokta felt harsher and sullen, while Jezal was more sardonic and self-absorbed.
However, I also appreciated the side characters we didn’t get to see the thoughts of. One of the most intriguing characters to me was Bayaz, as every move he made would throw me off. I can’t pinpoint his exact motive or personality. Many of the political figures, like Arch Lector, also hid secrets from the reader that we have yet to reveal. It is a good setup for the next book in the series.
I have to admit, one of my favorite decisions that the author made was how a lot of the characters were ‘morally grey’, in a sense. Some of the characters were made not to be liked, but even the ones with a good heart weren’t painted as completely innocent. Nobody is pure ‘good’ or ‘evil’. It shows that not everyone is perfect.
*Character Dynamics*
The way each character interacted with one another also made me engaged. What I loved the most was the characters’ beef with one another. One of my favorite examples is Glokta’s hatred for Jezal. When I tell you that Glokta was praying for Jezal’s downfall this whole book, I am not lying. Glokta was so spiteful throughout this whole novel, and I loved him for that. However, it also helped demonstrate that Glokta is just an untrusting and hateful person. Glokta found Bayaz and Logen suspicious as well, with Glokta constantly trying to call them out for lies.
We learn a lot about other characters through their interactions with others. Like how, despite Logen’s scary appearance, he tries his hardest to be polite and to get to know those around him. He believes that you should know the companions you are traveling with. Or how West is always trying his best to have empathy with those he is working with, but you can tell who he hates by how he is more snappy with them.
I appreciate how the romance in this novel is well-written and has a good buildup. It is more of a side thought compared to being overwhelming to the plot.
*Plot*
Speaking of plot, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey this book took the reader on. I savored that this novel is a mix of politics, magic, and the military. Each component fits perfectly. The narrative didn’t force any of the components to happen. Instead of it being clunky, everything merged naturally with one another.
However, I must admit that the plot was very character and setting-driven. I ended up enjoying this component, but I understand that it isn’t for everyone. Don’t worry, the plot was there and relevant, but it wasn’t too fast-paced.
While I enjoy fast-paced books, I found myself treasuring the solid foundation that the author laid with the characters and world. Even with the author touching heavily on the characters and the world, the plot still had a constant presence.
The pacing itself was well done in my eyes. The story had a great balance of action and dialogue. The plot kept moving forward at a good rate, and it never got ahead of itself.
“The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. Still, the struggle itself is worthwhile. Knowledge is the root of power, after all.”
In between/neutral (if needed):
*Chapter lengths*
The chapter lengths in this novel were a blend of ‘short and sweet’ and ‘long and time-consuming’. Some of the chapters were no more than two pages long, while others could reach up to 25 pages. There was also the dilemma that some of the chapters had good stopping points scattered throughout, whereas other chapters did not. Sometimes, it caused me to not read any further in the book for the day because I wouldn’t have time to find a good stopping spot. However, I have to give credit for the fact that there were quite a few short chapters.
“Some things have to be done. It’s better to do them, than to live with the fear of them.”
Cons/negatives:
*Hefty novel*
This novel has a lot of words and depth to it, and can take quite a bit of time to read. The time in which I chose to read this novel was not a good one, as I didn’t have a consistent reading schedule. Some weeks, I would read for hours, while the next week I wouldn’t read at all. It caused me to have to take a few minutes to recap where I was whenever I picked up the book after having a break in reading.
I’d recommend trying to find a time in which you can read this book a little bit as often as possible, compared to doing what I did and read it in random chunks throughout a couple of months.
*Multiple POVS*
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the many POVs we got to see as the reader…but there were a few times where I couldn’t bring myself to fully care about what was happening in one POV because a different one was so interesting.
I found I mainly had this struggle at the beginning of the novel. Jezel was busy complaining about first-world problems, all while Logen was fighting for his life. I was way more interested in Logen’s journey than Jezal’s at this point. However, I get that both of these parts were important to the story and building up each character.
“Every man has his excuses, and the more vile the man becomes, the more touching the story has to be. What is my story now, I wonder?”
Conclusion:
Pros – World building, politics, characters, character dynamics, plot
In between – chapter length
Cons – Hefty novel, multiple POVs
Overall – 4.35 out of 5
“The best steel doesn’t always shine the brightest.”