One cannot grow without pain. One cannot improve without it. Suffering drives us to achieve great things.” In addition to the First Law trilogy encompassing titles The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings, New York Times bestselling author Abercrombie has penned novels like Red Country. He previously worked with Miller as a writer on his series Love, Death & Robots. For pity’s sake!’ Orso’s voice. ‘We’re not animals. Off the terrace and let us be done. I am late for breakfast.’

Sorry,’ he muttered in her ear, pulling her sword from its scabbard and flinging it clattering across the room. How sure do we need to be?’ Blurry through the bloody hair across her eyes she saw Orso’s lined face. ‘I hope you understand. My great-grandfather was a mercenary. A low-born fighting man, who seized power by the sharpness of his mind and sword together. I cannot allow another mercenary to seize power in Talins.’ Duke Orso’s private study was a marble hall the size of a market square. Lofty windows marched in bold procession along one side, standing open, a keen breeze washing through and making the vivid hangings twitch and rustle. Beyond them a long terrace seemed to hang in empty air, overlooking the steepest drop from the mountain’s summit. The dialogues and interactions between characters were insanely delightful and fun to read. Also, once again, Abercrombie exhibited his skill in delivering intricate and immersive action sequences effectively. Abercrombie’s prose never fails to pull me inside the chaos and conflicts; everything always felt so vivid when I’m reading his books. Rest assured that wars, duels, gore, and many other thrilling battle sequences exist in Best Served Cold.

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General Ganmark’s face was strangely soft, his moustaches limp, his pale grey eyes always watery, lending him a look of perpetual sadness. The rumour was he’d been thrown out of the Union army for a sexual indiscretion involving another officer, and crossed the sea to find a more broad-minded master. The breadth of Duke Orso’s mind was infinite where his servants were concerned, provided they were effective. She and Benna were proof enough of that. Not quite done with my own read through of BSC yet. That said, I have to admit after reading The First Law trilogy, abandoning the story of Glokta, Jezel, Logan, and Bayaz, for some loosely related one off’s kind of didn’t thrill me going into BSC.

As for writing a female’s perspective when you are a man, well I imagine that has to be extremely difficult. Not sure what people would really expect from that. Some descriptive terms did tend to get used a lot, but you are bound to re-use a word or two over a 228,000 word book.

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I would probably have loved this book even if it wasn’t so female-heavy as I love city-state politics and the way one individual’s actions can change the tide of a war. However, I would have been much less likely to take the chance on it if the hero had been a man trying to avenge his sister/lover. Miller also revealed that Joe Abercrombie wrote the script for the Best Served Coldmovie. That bodes really well for the film, since Abercrombie’s voice is so distinctive. Miller said Abercrombie is “involved in everything” and that they talk “every day.” Orso smiled. ‘Why can my sons not mark my lessons as you have? I entirely approve. Hang only the leaders. And Cantain’s head above the gates. Nothing encourages obedience like a good example.’ The Snake of Talins, the self-made mercenary with no regret, is at the height of her power. Monzcarro Murcatto (this name sounds so ridiculously cool) is then betrayed by her employer and thought dead by the world. Now she must creep out of the gutter and reap revenge on those that took what was most important from her: her brother. He was the only person she ever really loved and trusted. She must take the lives of six men to avenge his death, ending with the Grand Duke Orso himself. It’s a very bloody business.