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reviewed Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie (First Law World, #4)

Joe Abercrombie: Best Served Cold (Hardcover, 2009, Gollancz) 4 stars

Review of 'Best Served Cold Joe Abercrombie' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This stand-alone novel set after the First Law trilogy was probably even darker than the series, and definitely filled with a lot more gore. As the title suggests it's all about vengeance. Monza Murcatto is the female captain general of the Thousand Swords, a mercenary army formerly led by Cosca, the drunken mercenary we met in the trilogy. Monza's boss, Duke Orso of Styria betrays her, kills her brother and throws her off a cliff. But she survives, and vows revenge against the 7 men involved in this betrayal.

It starts off like a bloody heist movie, as Monza and her crew of misfits plot to kill one target after the other. But the vengeance project changes all people involved, there's more people involved and it's all out war in the end.

The most likeable character is probably Cosca and he is just as murderous and selfish as everyone else is in this book.

I don't think I ever want to return to Monza as a character, but damn, Abercrombie writes such compelling terrible characters.

I can't wait to read on in this world.