Best Served Cold: Book Review

I just finished reading Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie, which is his take on the . . . you guessed it . . . romance story. As such, the book opens with the main character being betrayed, her brother being killed, and then her being thrown off a mountain to her death. Her survival was a miracle, and from there she plots her revenge, swearing to take down seven men that were present at the time of her betrayal. This book is similar to Before They Are Hanged in that there is a ragtag team of people who all hate each other at the center of the story, struggling to work out their differences. The change is that these people all have prior histories, and one's filled with betrayal and killing, adding an interesting backdrop to the story.

I really enjoyed this story. From beginning to end, I was engaged, and despite the revenge story structure being straightforward, the story is unpredictable and fun, with Abercrombie's twists on the story making it only better.

Overall (No Spoilers)

Everything that you would expect from an Abercrombie novel is present—and with a plot that ties everything together, this is where Abercrombie begins to refine his craft after completing that first trilogy. I won't repeat myself by noting the usual positives for Abercrombie, except to talk about what sets this book apart from his others.

The characters involved are largely new with a few returning side characters from the original trilogy. My favorite character is the same as everyone else's, of course. Cosca fits into the world so well, and he continually has all the best lines. Abercrombie routinely mentions him as one of the characters that is easiest to write, and it shows. The character has an incredibly strong voice (relative to Abercrombie's standards), and is just appealing, anyway. The rest of the characters are amazing, too. Friendly is another that stands out, particularly for his uniqueness. I think the only character that really seemed less interesting was Shivers, who I thought was similar to Logen from the original trilogy, which was probably the point, but which I thought was too repetitive. (And since I have read the second trilogy, up through Trouble, I also find him to be really similar to Broad). I guess Abercrombie has his character types, too.

Another character that I would be remiss not to mention is Benna. I just liked how the character was drip fed to us over the course of the story, especially one flashback that I won't mention in detail here due to spoilers.

As for the plot, I won't talk about it too much for the sake of spoilers, but I mentioned and want to repeat that the story told here was surprisingly unpredictable. While I might have been able to guess after sitting down and thinking about it for a while, the way the story started to turn by the halfway point caught me completely unawares. As for things like the themes and what that might imply for the story, you might be able to make some educated guesses about how the story is going to go based on the kinds of stories that Abercrombie writes, but there are still twists that you won't expect, so don't let that push you away.

Some people have criticized the book for being too episodic. The book is literally broken up into seven parts, corresponding to the seven men that Manza is promising to kill in revenge. But I did not care. I liked how the story cut out the fat where it was not needed and focused on the seven relevant points. I also like how the story escalates, with each part becoming more complex and grand than the last.

I also listened to the audiobook for this one, and my opinion is very much the same as the original trilogy, which I also listened to. Stephen Pacey does an amazing job bringing all the characters alive.

I'm not sure there is much of anything to criticize about this book. I can't really think of anything.

Overall, I thought the story was near perfect. I will give it a 9/10.

Strides (Spoilers)

It was rather fun being able to see some backstory for the events that transpire in The Age of Madness. Shivers, in particular, is one character that I knew would go through the ringer, and seeing him be tortured and losing his eye in the process was so visceral and hard to listen to. I am again reminded that Abercrombie portrays people as people, not as these heroic stoics who can withstand torture in the name of their ideals. True to how most if not all people would react when being tortured, even the hardest man or woman is reduced to a blubbering mess, begging for mercy.

I also liked receiving the backstory for everything that was talked about between King Jappo and King Orso, including Jappo's Northern ancestry, the three wars fought between the kingdoms, and the bad blood between their two families. Of course, the answer ends up being typical of Abercrombie, completely mired in grey.

I also like the twist involving Shenkt. Even from reading The Trouble with Peace, I would never have gathered that he would play the role that he did. I didn't even make a connection between him and the bone collector at the very beginning of the story. This story adds a whole new dimension to his appearance, and I'm left wondering how he will factor into The Wisdom of Crowds (maybe it was just a fun cameo, and maybe not).

In the same vein, I also really liked that even this story continued this theme of scheming magical bastards in the background manipulating world events for their own personal reasons. Adding Shenkt to this whole dynamic, and with the theories that he might be the King Casamir that Bayaz hated, makes the stories that much more fun to read. In a way, Shenkt's role was the real revenge plot.

I also liked how Manza was developed as a character over the course of the story. Her arc is, in many ways, the reverse of Logen Ninefingers. For Logen, you realize that he really was just a monster all those years and all the grievances that people have against him are as legitimate as any of his grievances. For Manza, you see that she really was never as hard as she pretended to be. She quotes from ancient writers talking about the need for brutality, suggesting that mercy and cowardice are the same, but you see that her reputation is inflated and that she really does have a heart. The fact that she ends up changing her mind on two of the men she vows to kill, either too late, or only to have Shivers step in for her, adds a whole dimension to the crusade. It wasn't just her realizing that she was just like them, but a literal shift in objectives as she decides she no longer wants revenge.

I also likes Benna's character, and I wish he could have been more prominent. He is a bit like the Comedian in Watchmen, where he is largely only seen in flashbacks throughout the story. One scene in particular is the one where he meets up with an old friend, greeting him amicably, only to murder the guy and steel his money. And then his sulky response to Manza's horror is just too perfect.

The fight with Ganmark at the midpoint of the story is another highlight. It is full of one liners and great action, and the climax of the fight is awesome. Some of the highlights include Ganmark fighting with his offhand and still winning, Ganmark fighting both Cosca and Manza and still winning, and then Ganmark losing due to a freak occurrence. As for the latter of those three, having the fight end like that has the potential to be anti-climactic, but the fact that it wasn't the climax of the whole story, and the fact that fits into chaotic and nihilistic world of The First Law, makes it all the better. I've mentioned before that deus ex machina can work if done right, and this is a good example.

Finally, I think I should mention the plot progression. Given that this was a simple revenge story, I wasn't exactly expecting the story to get too grand. But this was rather stupid. She wanted to kill the Grand Duke. Naturally, that would start a war, completely changing the political landscape in the process. It is perfect.

Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I will give it a 9/10.