Review by Eric
Mar 14, 2022I think the thing I appreciate the most about Abraham's writing (in this and in the Dagger and Coin series) is that he writes about a realistic world where things are not rosy or simple and characters don't necessarily get happy ever afters... without it just being the incredibly gruesome grimdark grittiness that much of the rest of modern fantasy seems to be wallowing in. I'm very curious to see where the subsequent books go.
The characters are flawed, three-dimensional, real people; the exploration of grief and the ways in which different people handle it (including over time) is really well done, and Abraham makes you really feel compassion for these people, even some of the ones who are nominally villains, in ways that aren't cliche or pat.
I think the thing I appreciate the most about Abraham's writing (in this and in the Dagger and Coin series) is that he writes about a realistic world where things are not rosy or simple and characters don't necessarily get happy ever afters... without it just being the incredibly gruesome grimdark grittiness that much of the rest of modern fantasy seems to be wallowing in. I'm very curious to see where the subsequent books go.
The characters are flawed, three-dimensional, real people; the exploration of grief and the ways in which different people handle it (including over time) is really well done, and Abraham makes you really feel compassion for these people, even some of the ones who are nominally villains, in ways that aren't cliche or pat.
