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The Grim Company, by Luke Scull. Just like Abercrombie, but with actual magic.


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Well, I finished it, and yeah, it was a bit of a let down.  For the first 3/5ths I thought it was great, then it seemed like he packed about 2 books worth of events, character turns, and arbitrary twists into the last 2/5ths.  Some of the twists and character turns weren't set up at all.  Hrm.

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For me, I'll echo spassvogel upthread - too much happening towards the end. Events overtaking each other faster than I can digest them, and being followed - again - by new events. I wouldn't mind having this book being split in two and expanded. 

Dark, I'll agree, but I didn't mind here. Think the tone of the book agreed more with me for some reason (just like Lawrence really isn't my cup of tea).

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  • 1 month later...
On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 1:22 AM, Darth Richard II said:

Baffled by all the lukewarm reviews this is getting. Easily (imho) the best of the three and a great conclusion. Also dark as fuck. This shit makes Bakker look like candyland.

I'm a bit confused by the lukewarm reviews as well.  I agree that it was easily the best of the three.

I was concerned in the second book that the set up with the Fehd and the demons in the north was all entirely too much; but I thought it was resolved cleanly.  The battle with the Herald felt perhaps a bit too much video gamey and was won with very little sacrifice.

I disagree that none of the turns were foreshadowed.  It was always pretty clear that Obrahim and Saverian were going to come to a separation. 

There were definitely several things set up for more stories in the world.  I thought the Tarbonne section left many characters hanging.  The Wolf likely isn't dead.  Davarus is out there somewhere looking for a way to get rid of the Reaver.  etc.

Overall, was this in my top list of fiction?  No.  But it was good, and its finished... which automatically vaults it above many other authors who started their stories years earlier than Scull.

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On 21/01/2017 at 6:22 AM, Darth Richard II said:

Baffled by all the lukewarm reviews this is getting. Easily (imho) the best of the three and a great conclusion. Also dark as fuck. This shit makes Bakker look like candyland.

And sales of the book plummet! :P

 

13 hours ago, Rhom said:

I'm a bit confused by the lukewarm reviews as well.  I agree that it was easily the best of the three.

 

Overall, was this in my top list of fiction?  No.  But it was good, and its finished... which automatically vaults it above many other authors who started their stories years earlier than Scull.

I seemed to be in the minority and enjoyed kane and wolf's adventures moreso than the other characters in book 2. So maybe if they feature a lot in the third book I'll still be happy.

I also agree with you that every book doesn't need to be "genre-definining" or "the next big thing". There's absolutely nothing wrong  with being good and timely. Adrian Tchaikovsky falls into that category  for me as well - I faithfully buy all his books (and eventually get around to reading them) but I rarely mention him as one of my top authors.

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The one thing I do wonder about from the end was the sudden WTF appearance of Marius.

The dude who kick started this whole thing by killing the Fehd gal and then got flattened and drowned by having an entire harbor dropped on his head in the opening scene of the books.

I didn't see any chance he was still alive.

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39 minutes ago, Rhom said:

The one thing I do wonder about from the end was the sudden WTF appearance of Marius.

The dude who kick started this whole thing by killing the Fehd gal and then got flattened and drowned by having an entire harbor dropped on his head in the opening scene of the books.

I didn't see any chance he was still alive.

 


He was Eremul's dog.

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10 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

He was Eremul's dog.

Wait... what?

ETA:  I honestly don't know whether you are kidding or not... with some of these fantasy books, that could absolutely be true... but it could also be a big joke.  So I have to ask.

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13 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Wait... what?

ETA:  I honestly don't know whether you are kidding or not... with some of these fantasy books, that could absolutely be true... but it could also be a big joke.  So I have to ask.


Not a joke. Check the epilogue to book 2.

 

Wolgred the Wanderer meets with his mysterious master, who one line of thought reveals to be Marius. He wonders how long Marius needs to regain his true form, and Marius says he requires sustenance. As he leaves, he meets a guard on the way to the location to fulfill his promise to the halfmage to look after his dog, who promptly gets eaten.

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1 minute ago, polishgenius said:


Not a joke. Check the epilogue to book 2.

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Wolgred the Wanderer meets with his mysterious master, who one line of thought reveals to be Marius. He wonders how long Marius needs to regain his true form, and Marius says he requires sustenance. As he leaves, he meets a guard on the way to the location to fulfill his promise to the halfmage to look after his dog, who promptly gets eaten.

Hmph... must have missed that part.  :lol: 

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
On 01/03/2017 at 7:48 PM, polishgenius said:

 


He was Eremul's dog.

I missed that too although

it gives me hope that Eremul isn't dead given Marius' appearance at the end of book 3 and his kinship with water

Just finished book 3 while on holiday and I thought the book was excellent. I'm trying to recall a book so frenetically paced - I think it was probably Abercrombie's LAOK. I thought the opening act would set too high a benchmark but the action and threat level just continued to escalate.

While I was split on book 2 in terms of liking half the storylines and being less warm to the other half, they all worked for me this time around.

Brutal but satisfying ending and I hope we see more from Scull in future as I think he found his groove with this book.

It's maybe not the most thought provoking fantasy out there but it's damn entertaining. Probably a highlight of the year for me so far.

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