Phenomenal. After a long awaited wait and the first (not counting his YA trilogy) book to come not from his First Law universe. Excellent excellent excellent, clearly there could be a series on the horizon and he’s already developed these characters so much that they already feel like old friends. Characters that at the start were rigid and rule-abiding had moments of maturity and just instead hit that priest in the face! That’s the kind of development I love about Joe Abercrombie — introduce a character whose one way and then by halfway through you’re cheering them on the other way! I hunger deeply and endlessly as the Vigga-Wolf for his next work….

~ “Why me?” I asked. “Why did an unknown Caerith scribe from ages past see fit to set down a prophecy of my life? I am just a whore’s bastard made a thief and a murderer because there was no other place for me in this land. I am a pariah to be shunned by churl and noble alike. This land and its people have no use for me, save to earn an ugly death and an unmarked grave fighting their wars.” “The life of a pariah can be as meaningful as that of a king,” she replied, her voice softer now and I discerned a weariness in the way her shoulders slumped. “Every life is significant, but some are… more so" ~ Wanted to start with a quote from around the middle of the book that really solidifies key plot elements and made me think 'fuck, this book is going to get SO good.' I honestly cannot implore intensely enough the primal urgency I put into this review because Anthony Ryan -- despite if you've read his other series and thought 'eh he's alright' -- changes his game completely with this trilogy. It's so different but also still playing to all his strengths. This is the series that totally warped me and blew all other series I had read out of the water. I had no idea the kind of yearning obsession I would grow for this series as I kept consuming. Ryan's writing style (in this series especially) just is so damn satisfying, he crafted Alwyn Scribes' character so intricately and excellently that he only becomes more indepth, rich (not monetary), complex (in the best way), intelligent, and fucking hilarious as the books go on. When I read this, I was a nuisance to anyone around me because I'd be cackling to myself about some witty line he'd said or some beautifully smart plan he'd orchestrated and, inevitably, cried with him too. My reviews for the next two books will only get worse sorry this is my favourite boy we talkin about here^^

Even though I read this series when I was like 14 and hadn't really been exposed to fantasy novels and romance all that much, I sure got a massive dose of it here with all these beautiful characters. Even though I write this review as a 24-year-old and perhaps wouldn't feel identically now if I only first read it, but I'm going to trust my younger self and choose to empathize that I fuckin loved this series and it broke me, rebuilt me and then left me with crazy unrealistic expectations for male fantasy characters... truly my book that begun so many more for me. NOT for the vulnerable of witty and charming men with black hair and blue eyes! You will never go back.