A Little Hatred

Executive Summary: A little slow at times, but by the end I was hooked and eagerly awaiting the next book to come out.Audiobook: Steven Pacey does his usual excellent job. I think he's narrated most of the First Law books, and he really make them a must listen for me. He does a variety of voices and has good pacing and inflection.Full ReviewI've enjoyed most of the First Law books, but since reading [b:Red Country 13521459 Red Country (First Law World, #6) Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333663008l/13521459.SY75.jpg 19082135] 4 years ago, I have mostly rolled off of darker fantasy. I didn't find this one quite as dark as some of the previous entries, but it's not exactly sunshine and rainbows either.My favorite book of the series to this point was [b:The Heroes 9300768 The Heroes (First Law World, #5) Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375671200l/9300768.SY75.jpg 12879765], and that hasn't changed. However I probably like this about as much as the original trilogy, and more than [b:Best Served Cold 2315892 Best Served Cold Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347732723l/2315892.SY75.jpg 2322406]. I'm not sure but I probably like [b:Red Country 13521459 Red Country (First Law World, #6) Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333663008l/13521459.SY75.jpg 19082135] better as well. So what that boils down to is this book is somewhere in the middle of the pack for me. I never liked the original trilogy quite as much as some of my friends seemed to.My biggest issue with this book was just how long it's been since I've read most of those books, especially the original trilogy. This book could really have done with some recap. I guess it doesn't have one since you could probably read this book without having read any of the previous books, but I'm not sure why you'd really want to.I'm still not quite sure why but Glotka remains one of my favorite characters. He's a terrible person, but he's almost always the smartest one in the room, so I enjoy him outsmarting others I guess. It was good to see him again, even if he's only a minor character and the focus is on his daughter Savine and others of her generation. She's not the only new character from the original books that is the offspring on a notable character. However most of them come as a bit of a surprise, so I'll just leave them for you to discover if you decide to read this. I thought most of the new characters were interesting in their own rights, and not remarkable for simply being someone's child. In addition to aging up most of the characters you know to have adult children, technology has advanced too. This setting has a very much industrial revolution feel, with all the benefits and issues that came along with it.Once I got back into the swing of things I found myself swept up in the story and all the new characters. I still don't have much of an interest in reading darker fantasy, but I do have an interest in seeing how the rest of this series turns out. I'll definitely be picking up the next one when it comes out.

This book is exactly what you would expect it to be for a book of it's kind, and I'm afraid that this kind of book just isn't really for me.

There are things that it does that are interesting in theory, but I didn't actually enjoy that much in practice. For instance, every single character in this book is a shitty person. Not most characters, every. single. character. Maybe it looks like one character is on a redemption arc? No, they just re-enforced earlier held beliefs now. Maybe this other character will stick to their convictions about not being selfish like the other people of their caste? No, they will be just as terrible when pressed. Again, it was kind of interesting to have the book not fall into established heroic tropes, but at the same time I just kind of found it to be not fun and I didn't really care for any of the characters.

I didn't hate the book. The writing itself is pretty good and often feels cinematic, particularly in a chaotic scene in the middle that feels like a camera sweeping along to follow a new character every few minutes. Early on I struggled to keep the characters straight, especially when I started via audiobook, but when I switched to reading the ebook I was able to slow down a bit and sort things out better.

I could see this series going to interesting places as it continues, but I don't think I will be reading more to find out.

Maybe the best fantasy book I've read in a long time? I don't even know where to start!

This book really has everying! Suspense, action, humor, mystery, romance, witty dialog, deep and complex characters, a gripping plot about war and politics... I could go on!

The closest book I can compare this to is Game of Thrones but it's very much it's own thing. It doesn't always take itself too seriously and I care way more about the characters than I ever did when reading A Song of Ice and Fire.

I don't really know if there's anything about this book I didn't like? I couldn't put it down and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

Enjoyed the book for the most part, until the “twist” near the end. I don't like when authors make a choice because it is the most shocking or disgusting. Great world as always, compelling characters, unnecessary and unbelievable things happening near the end, specifically around personal relationships between characters. It just felt lazy. Hmm, what would really screw with the reader...I know! These characters that finally realize how they feel about each other? This relationship you've been following the whole book? They're siblings! Hahahaha, bet you feel gross for enjoying that now, don't you? It's cheap. Then guess what? Those other two characters who broke up? They're going to show up and then the two pairs of ex-lovers trade partners unwittingly at a party! Doubly lazy and triply disappointing. Bummed that I'll likely pass on the rest of this series.

This time I came prepared... Unlike my approach to [b:The Blade Itself 944073 The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1) Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1284167912l/944073.SX50_SY75.jpg 929009] i knew better than to expect a closing narrative arc for this first book of the trilogy. This is just book 1 of a longer story, so sit back and enjoy the wonderfully ambiguous characters (the baddies are somewhat moral, the goodies have plenty of skeletons...) and the frazzled timeline as Abercrombie draws still from Medieval, Restoration and Georgian Industrial Revolution. If the First Law trilogy found your favour then you will love this sequel.

A Little Hatred kicks off the second trilogy in the First Law world.
A couple of decades have passed since the wry ending of the first trilogy. We've caught glimpses of the evolving world in the standalones, but now we are fully introduced to a world at the cusp of an industrial revolution. Amidst the promise of innovation and progress, the shadows of exploitation and ruthless opportunism loom.
Despite this changing world, the same old problems persist. The tensions between North and South are still unresolved and there's a renewed build-up to open warfare, adding extra pressure on a struggling society.
Against this backdrop, the story unfurls with the recounting of an unsettling vision, which I feel hints at the trajectory of the entire trilogy.

“I saw a wolf eat the sun. Then a lion ate the wolf. Then a lamb ate the lion. Then an owl ate the lamb.”

Through the eyes of seven point-of-view characters, we meet a large cast, often related or closely linked to characters we already know from previous books.
The different perspectives are strategically spread across key locations, providing the reader with an overview of all the cogs that are beginning to turn.
Overall, this book truly read like the setup of a new chess game, with each piece carefully introduced and positioned for the start of a new, bold and intricate game of power, politics, ambition, and consequence.

“Believe it or not, we all want what's best. The root o' the world's ills is that no one can agree on what it is.”

The story is steeped in contradictions: rich versus poor, experienced veterans versus ambitious youth, resignation versus idealism. Abercrombie doesn't shy away from exposing every ugly, sickening, and dubious aspect of humanity, and his distinctive style of sombre cynicism mixed with humour never fails to draw me in.

“We're cogs in the big machine.”

The character work remains the area where, for me, Abercrombie excels.
Each character feels lifelike and memorable. Despite the extensive cast, I never had trouble remembering who was who.
While I didn't have a standout favourite character, I found each perspective fascinating in its own way, even if it came with a certain degree of disdain or dislike. This made the title of the book all the more fitting.

While it's said that this trilogy can be read without prior knowledge, I only partially agree. I think a reader unfamiliar with the first trilogy will miss many nuances. Especially a certain aspect that gave me a huge sense of discomfort and disgust wouldn't have had the same impact without that prior knowledge. Although it was sometimes very unpleasant to read, it adds to the author's brilliantly sadistic side.

“The figurehead goes at the front of the ship. Braves the terror of wind and waves, takes the risks and reaps the glory. But it's an unnoticed fellow hidden away near the back who does the steering.”

While this book largely felt like setting up all the pieces before the actual story can begin, the setup was entertaining, exciting, and surprising. Chess pieces were sometimes moved gently, sometimes forcefully, to expected but often unexpected locations. The ending knocked over several pieces and left me as a reader reeling. It was chaotic, dramatic, and unexpected, although part of me should have seen it coming, given that a certain someone won't leave their home without grand world-spanning plans.
I'm very curious to see where this goes!

This is an adult grim dark political high fantasy, which follows the First law series, as well as the 3 standalone written after it. Now, you don't have to read any of the other books I just mentioned before you pick this one up, but I'll advise you to have read at least the First Law trilogy prior. Because it will give you much needed context and will introduce you to some of the keyed secondary characters.

I didn't know what to expect from this book and when I initially saw the setting, I will admit, I was a bit disappointed. Not because of the place, but because of the time. To be frank, I was hoping for a smaller time gap and a bit more focus on magic.

Still, the more I read, the more I got into the book and I have to once again, applaud the author's fantastic writing style. He creates such bleak atmosphere and such vivid characters, and even better than that, he writes dialog that has me laughing out loud, and inner monologues that have me nodding along with how accurately they describe some elements of the human condition, which we sometimes struggle to define for ourselves.

There were many chapters I wanted to highlight but I will only stop at one - The Little People. This one is a great example of a device, if you can call it that, which the author likes to utilise in tense action packed chapters. Where he will switch rapidly between different povs and draw subtle, or not so subtle, parallels between them. He did that masterfully in this chapter and what made it even better was the fact that it featured almost exclusively random inconsequential to the major plot characters, some of which we would never see again. It helped level up the whole “reality” of the story and allowed for better involvement of the reader.

There's a lot I want to say about the surprises we were served and the theories I have, but I don't want to spoil anything for you, so I shall leave it here.

I gave the book 5 stars and I am so excited to continue with the series (especially what I am suspecting turns out to be true).

This go around in the universe established in The First Law trilogy we have the children of the characters from said trilogy and what's really compelling is watching these young people strive to make a name for themselves. The naivety some of them possess is quite amusing to witness. Nothing I quite enjoy more than watching ideals meet reality and buckling under that weight or in the rare case standing strong...but mostly it's the dashing of young people's dreams. ;)

The setting of this trilogy is pretty interesting as well. Beginning of an industrial revolution and all that entails for nobility/commoners is quite an interesting backdrop. But it's not all praise. I was disappointed with the plot. I was left wanting more, but not necessarily in a good way. The tension is built to the bursting point around several events, but the payoff was too quick and not very rewarding imo. 

It doesn't help that while the character writing overall is still great overall, it doesn't fly nearly as high as the first trilogy managed. I felt like a couple of the POV characters feel as if they're missing the nuances and complexities that all of the characters in the first trilogy had. Be that as it may, the elements and characters that do click with me, do so at such a high level that I still find this book incredibly enjoyable.

This is even better than The Blade Itself!

The characters are phenomenal of course but the female cast is spectacular! Savine may be my favorite character of all time! I've had this book for 3 years and for some reason kept pushing it back, what an idiot right?

A Favorite books this year so far:
1. Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff
2. A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
3. The Pariah by Anthony Ryan
4. The Dragons of Deepwood Fen by Bradley Beaulieu
5. Disquiet Gods by Christopher Ruocchio

FULL REVIEW ON MY WEBSITE

It's great! I had a hard time putting down the book at any given moment!

Joe Abercrombie is one of my favourite authors. I thoroughly enjoyed the First Law trilogy and The Shattered Sea trilogy when I read them a couple of years ago. And reading A Little Hatred made me feel sorry for not having read the three standalone books set in the same world of the First Law.

This book introduces a whole new cast, but we still hear a lot about characters from the original trilogy and apart form the characters, there's other big new changes happening which affect the world, like the modernisation of the industry, while at the same time big battles are being fought in the north with swords and axes.

I think that All in all this book is setting the scene for what's to come in the following books. It'll get worse, which means it'll get better for us readers.

Me ha gustado su crudeza. Es un mundo e historia que me recordó en algunos momentos a Canción de Hielo y Fuego.

Tiene buenos momentos, pero en general, me parece que le ha faltado ese componente de intriga o misterio que produce en el lector una adicción por leer un capítulo más y encontrar alguna respuesta. Esta novela carece de eso, ya que su trama es bien simple, al igual que su final.

No es un mal libro, cumple con entretener, aunque lo siento algo sobrevalorado.