Best Served Cold is a stand-alone novel set as a crossover from Abercrombie’s First
Law trilogy, carrying some of the events and characters from the other books.
The
novel presents a basic revenge plot, and if that were the extent of its value,
it still would stand tall. However, Abercrombie explores the realistic toll
that an obsession with revenge would take on a person, delving into the “blood
will have blood” theme explored in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Does a quest for
revenge (whether justified or not) result in an uncontrolled escalation of
violence, or is it justice? How far is too far?
Written with Abercrombie’s
characteristic gritty realism and grim tone, Best Served Cold won’t
disappoint fans of his previous work or fantasy fans new to his writing.
There have been nineteen years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, behind the scenes bankers, priests and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king.
War may be hell but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso's employ, it's a damn good way of making money too. Her victories…
Speaking as both a writer and reader of
fantasy, I can say George R. R. Martin’s place in the genre is undeniably
iconic. His storytelling and character development are justifiably regarded as
nothing short of masterful.
In his novel Fevre Dream, I was pleased to
find examples of Martin’s expert writing and, quite unexpectedly, a vampire
story set in the world of 1800s Mississippi riverboats. Martin does away with
many of the tired tropes found in vampire lit and takes the liberty of
exploring some of the lesser-trafficked aspects of the genre.
His ability to
create immersive environments draws the reader into the story, and while the
supernatural elements of the subject matter are clearly a driving force within
the narrative, the story stands on the shoulders of its characters.
When struggling riverboat captain Abner Marsh receives an offer of partnership from a wealthy aristocrat, he suspects something’s amiss. But when he meets the hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York, he is certain. For York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet. Nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investment in a decade. York has his own reasons for wanting to traverse the powerful Mississippi. And they are to be none of Marsh’s concern—no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious his actions may prove.
In Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, we
encounter a well-balanced mixture of themes that come together to make a great
story.
Weir’s emphasis on believable science within science fiction lends
credibility to the story without bogging the narrative down with overt
exposition. This story begins with the protagonist waking up in a troublesome
scenario with no memory, lending an air of mystery to the narrative as the
character slowly discovers the nature of his predicament.
It is written with an
easy-to-read, often humorous tone but also addresses some rather heavy topics
as the main character comes to terms with his own very human failings. One of
the strengths of speculative fiction is its ability to give us an introspective
chance to view humanity through a different lens.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through…
A band of mercenaries is hired for what was
supposed to be an easy assignment. Get in. Get out. Get paid. But like
most things in life, nothing is as easy as it seems. In a world rich with
history, meticulously engineered laws of magic, unique cultures, and peoples, the
“private contractors” soon find their already varied motivations and priorities
shifting. What started out as a simple job spirals out of control into a
struggle for survival in the midst of a plot that is bigger – much bigger –
than any of them could have anticipated. Blood will be spilled, confidences
broken, and a fair bit of whiskey consumed. Not everyone is who they seem, and
no one seems in control. This is only the beginning…
