Before They Are Hanged

I seem to have hit a “Sophomore Slump” with the First Law. I still think the characterizations and development of relationships were good but I'm not sure that any plot needs to move this slowly, especially over three books that are each 500 pages long.

Maybe I'm just impatient.

As for the characters, I would have appreciated it if the one woman who got a POV in the book was not so boring. All she does is think about how she hates everything, distrusts everyone, and how stupid and slow her traveling companions are. A little of this goes a long way. Was Abercrombie afraid we were going to think she'd “softened” if he didn't repeat her constant bitter inner monologue?

I still like Glotka's combo of inner turmoil and outer cool. One thing that kept me going was curiosity about what he'd do next and how he would deal with what was thrown at him.

Yeah, I'm gonna finish the series. The completist in me needs to see how it turned out.