Wednesday, October 12, 2011

ARCHIVED REVIEW: Before They are Hanged (6/22/10)

The First Law: Second Book 
Before They Are Hanged 
by Joe Abercrombie

This sequel is not as good as the first book in terms of clarity, I think, but that may be b/c I read the first book at the beach and the second during a bachelorette party and commuting on the metro.

The fascinating thing about this book, aside from the riveting saga, is the multiple character perspective really crystallizes. Mostly during the first book, you got a little bit of this, but in this book, you have a good chunk of the characters all on the same journey, and they all (at least at first) hate each other. So you get to see each of the characters through 4 different lenses and you are not sure whose perspective you can trust, narratively speaking.

Abercrombie also has a great ability for suspense. He will build up a situation where you know that something is wrong, but you don't know what, and the characters haven't seemed to notice it yet. And it usually takes reading the next book to get the payoff, which I really enjoy!

And the more I read, the more I love Logan and West. My heart goes out to men like that. Ferro, however, exhausts me. I'm not sure how one person can live like that.

I can't wait to read the third! If only I could find it in a library somewhere.

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