by Joe Abercrombie
“Men are easily replaced. The world is full of them.”
Monza has worked her way up the ladder and is the leader of a powerful group of mercenaries. Her brother is betrayed by the duke and is killed in front of her, and her own body is broken and thrown down a mountainside where she’s left for dead. But she’s found by a strange man who stitches her back together, and as soon as she’s able Monza sets out on a course of bloody revenge which shakes the kingdom.
There’s no shortage of The Count of Monte Cristo here, with vengeance the main theme, and Abercrombie’s dirty, mud-and-blood-filled world makes for a great setting. And as usual for the author, heroes are few and far between. The characters have a lot more wrong with them than right, but the author succeeds in drawing parallels between worlds and makes sure we’ve got plenty of blood and despair.
This book has been called Abercrombie’s best work, and the world that made Logan Nine-Fingers is alive and well, churning out bitter, hate-fueled yet compelling, relatable anti-heroes.
Used to be he was his own worst enemy. Now he was everyone else’s.
4 stars
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