A Little Hatred

A Little Hatred is Abercrombie at his best: the character's are delightfully grey, the pacing is top notch, and the plot... this is one of the greatest openings to a series I have ever read.

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.

Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com.