giveaways!

Ashes of a Black Frost (11/1) | The Shattered Vine (11/3)
Coming soon:

drey's Giveaway Policy

FTC Disclosure: I am an affiliate at IndieBound, The Book Depository, and Amazon, and any purchases made by clicking on covers or links here may result in monetary compensation.

211. Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie...

November 21, 2009
best served coldAbout the book:
Springtime in Styria. And that means war.

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. Armies march, heads roll, and cities burn, while 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 have made her popular--a shade too popular for her employer's taste. Murcatto is betrayed and left for dead, her reward a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. Whatever the cost, seven men must die.

Her allies include Styria's least reliable drunkard, Styria's most treacherous poisoner, a mass murderer obsessed with numbers, and a Northman who just wants to do the right thing. Her enemies number the better half of the nation. And that's all before the mot dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started...

Springtime in Styria. And that means revenge.

drey's thoughts:
Best Served Cold is my first Joe Abercrombie. I saw "him" on another blog earlier this year, then I found his blog, and thought to myself, "this guy has a wicked cool sense of humor"... So I picked this up when I saw it at the library. I must say, this book reminds me of my husband's favorite Shakespeare tragedies. Lots of death, with a dash of tongue-in-cheek humor for flavor.

It's a pretty big tome, not that I'm complaining. Monza is literally a shell of her former self, and I'm amazed at the nerve she has in planning for revenge, when she can't barely walk without her hip aching. But, plan she does. And recruits, too. And so this band of misfits stumble and fumble their way down Monza's list. Seven men must die, after all.

Joe's characters are entertaining, if a bit irredeemable. But some of them land on both feet, some don't land at all, and you won't want to put the book down as you march surely (if a bit slowly) towards page 632.

Title: Best Served Cold
Author: Joe Abercrombie
ISBN-10: 0316044962
ISBN-13: 9780316044967
Hardcover: 632 pages
Publisher: Orbit, 2009

Challenges: 100+, Pub, Support Your Local Library

Disclosure: My copy of Best Served Cold made a brief visit from the local library and is probably gracing somebody else's home right now...

2 comments:

ninefly said...

The cover grabbed me right away for this one, and now I'm pining for all of the author's works XD;
I'd really like to see such a cold and intense female character as Monza since there aren't many like her elsewhere.

Bleuette said...

I like the cover!

http://fantasysink.blogspot.com/

Post a Comment

have a thought to share? I love comments!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

what's here...

100 challenge (395) 1st in series challenge (22) 2009 books (233) 2010 books (160) 2011 books (142) annie solomon (5) award (12) ban on spending challenge (10) big honcho media (5) blog stuff (12) blog tour (107) blogoversary (12) book giveaway carnival (5) booking through thursday (15) carolyn brown (6) carrie vaughn (14) cathy holton (5) ce murphy (8) chicagoland vampires series (5) chick lit (20) chloe neill (10) chris evans (5) contemporary romance (35) danielle trussoni (6) deals (16) demons (6) dianne greenlay (5) dreys giveaways (215) ebook (36) elemental assassins series (5) elizabeth chadwick (5) excellent (78) faerie (10) faith hunter (6) fantasy (50) featured authors (90) fiction (62) fsb (5) giveaways (29) good (50) graphic novel (7) guest post (84) hbg (162) historical fiction (16) historical romance (23) horror (5) house of night series (5) interview (41) james patterson (8) james rollins (5) janet evanovich (21) jeannie lin (5) jennifer estep (12) jim butcher (5) karen marie moning (5) kelley armstrong (5) kelly meding (6) kevin hearne (7) kim wright (6) kitty norville series (9) kylie brant (6) laura anne gilman (6) library (163) library loot (15) LT (5) mackayla lane series (5) marie force (7) melissa de la cruz (9) meme (10) memoir (5) michael connelly (5) misc (58) molly harper (5) morganville vampires series (9) multicultural fiction (16) mystery (44) NaJuReMoNoMo (30) new author challenge (30) ok (12) outstanding (5) paranormal romance (34) pc cast (5) penguin (9) pick it up (7) pocket (59) pub (181) rachel caine (9) rachel vincent (10) reading challenges (22) reminder (5) review (534) richelle mead (8) romantic suspense (14) rowena cory daniells (5) sarah jio (5) sarah pekkanen (5) science fiction (17) scott westerfeld (7) series (39) shifters series (7) skinwalkers (6) sourcebooks (50) spotlight (25) steampunk (8) stephanie draven (5) stephanie plum series (21) stephen parrish (5) stephenie meyer (5) susan helene gottfried (5) teaser tuesdays (11) thriller (24) tlc (18) tony bertauski (5) unbridled (8) urban fantasy (117) vampire academy series (6) vampires (56) very good (59) vineart war series (5) weres (23) winners (182) YA (97)
Powered by Blogger Widgets

history...