The Blade Itself Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2024
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I AM SO GLAD YOU PICKED THESE UP!
Same, bro same
Between you and Merphy, my money is rapidly vanishing, but my collection of great books is growing. I had to make shelf space by using a Goodkind book for kindling. 🤣
@@danakinstreetrider 🤣
Leave her alone Daniel! She married.
She broke my heart when she said she didn't like ASOIAF :(
I love when you film outside. Wherever you live, it’s BEAUTIFUL
Thank you!
Gahlwyn Fjorn , your profile pic 😄 hilarious. Not even a big Star Wars fan and still appreciated this lol
@@Blake4625kHz I just noticed that it's Luke jump roping 😄
There's the First Law trilogy, and then there are three stand alone novels set in the same world, and then there's the first book of a second trilogy called A Little Hatred (just published in September) which is set a generation or two after First Law.
Great summary! To add, it's quite important to read them in sequence, including the stand-alone novels, as it progresses an overall story of the world. Some character moments would lose their significance without reading all of them.
Thank you!
Miles Curtis Watson Can I finish the first trilogy and start the next?
@@benjaminmolina3456 I've only finished the first of the stand-alone novels but from what I understand there are elements of them that inform the new trilogy so I would recommend reading them in order. I know for certain that there are important characters in First Law that do reappear in the stand-alones.
There's also another trilogy called Shattered Sea which is not related to First Law at all. It's a young adult trilogy. I think Joe said that he wanted to take a break from First Law so he made a young adult trilogy.
Did you Audiobook this? The audiobooks are AMAZING!!! The narrator slays it with everyone having a very distinct voice/accent. Glokta especially is done so well.
I'm listening to it on my hour long drive to work everyday. The narrator is amazing.
@@Twistedstar0320 this is one instance where I think the narrator vastly increased my enjoyment a story, I don't think I could have imagined Glokta's speech/tone as well myself
The performance is off the charts and I agree with below, in that it added to the enjoyment. The B list characters have amazing voices let alone the main cast. The range of perfect accents is so immersive. J
Among all the audiobooks I listened, this one had the best narrator, especially the bloody nine chapter. I was clenching my fist by the end of that.
Pacey is amazing.
"Body found floating by the docks".......
Why am I doing this?
Abercrombie is amazing. IMHO he keeps getting better with every book, and he's quickly become one of my absolute favorites. His characters are just... Mwah! Morally grey perfection.
Say one thing about Joe Abercrombie, say he knows how to write a great character.
And to think you haven't even met one of the most amoral, self-serving, despicable, yet laugh-out-loud funny characters in all of fantasy: Nicomo Cosca, famed soldier of fortune.
Enjoy book two and beyond.
A drink, a drink a drink!
Every time I read this series, I accidentally pick up Ninefingers' speech patterns for a while. Back to the f'n mud...
@@bjdunne5113, you just have to be realistic about these things...
You’re in for a real treat. I still find myself thinking about the ending of this trilogy all the time. He builds it all up well, and the books just get better as you go. That ending.. phew... 🤯🤯🤯🤯
Robert, it’s a Game of Thrones shirt - valar morghulis, valar dohaeris. It means “all men must serve, all men must die”
The first book I was ok on it, but it was honestly the second book that sold the trilogy for me. The whole trilogy is very character driven. The world builds a little bit, but never really enough to take the focus away from the characters.
This trilogy was like the opposite of Broken Earth for me. Mixed on first book instead of it being one of my favorites, and the last two books were over the moon amazing as apposed to really lackluster.
Spoilers for the series...
I agree that all three are incredibly written but I had the opposite experience. I became more and more disenchanted with each book as I realized just how bad everyone sucks. I kept thinking a few of the characters (Ninefingers/West/etc) were good at there core or that we may get redemption arcs from Glokta/Jazel/etc but none of that happened. In the end ALL the characters sucked and I was left feeling pretty depressed with no one to root for. Also, really interested to see how Merphy feels about the end of book 2. She seems to be expecting pretty grand things. Hope she enjoys the subversion.
@@urty24 The subversion was definitely coming to mind when she was talking to that. This trilogy definitely seems to hint at huge things and then just kind of turns the other way.
Do you mean Broken Empire
@@user-ny1wo1vp9r Nope, The Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin.
@colburn0004 completely agree with you about Broken Earth. I enjoyed the Broken Empire trilogy.
I've been binging your channel for days, and just made a book run for this book, and the entire Gentleman Bastards series. I can't wait to get started!
Dude I love talking about a book right after I’ve finished it and therefore I love watching other people do the same! The end of books leaves you with such a book high, it’s great! Glad you liked the book
Awesome to see a Booktuber reviewing in the Great Outdoors!
I've read the first two books this summer and I'm still saving the last one, cause I know it's gonna be super epic and I don't want it to end too soon. I also took my time before diving into the second book and missing the world really made me love and appreciate it more.
I liked Blade Itself but man oh man, Before They Are Hanged was just so much better!! The plot was good and character dynamics was just FANTASTIC! The way they interacted with each other made me want to be in the book all the time!
I think it's better that you're not getting to the second book right after the first one. You'll enjoy it more once you get to it. ^^
How long do you recommend waiting before starting book 2?
I just finished book 1 over the weekend, and I couldn’t put it down.
@@Snoop_Dugg I read the trilogy one book a month, if I remember it correctly, but honestly, wait as long as you want. I see you're a fast reader so I'd wait for a day or two if I were you.
I started this on Monday; but I'm only 50 pages in or so - it has been a busy week. Your enthusiasm towards the pros reaffirmed that I've made a good choice! Thanks for the spoiler free review.
This is literally one of my favorite series I'm so excited you read it
I Think the Blade Itself is the best starter book to the grim dark book style
It´s funny my experience was almost the contrary. I DNFed this book when I was about halfway through maybe? I liked the characters a lot, especially Logen, but it started to be kind of boring to me. On the other hand ASOIAF for me is amazing, read it twice, probably going to read it again sometime in the future, for me George RR Martin has a writing style that really resonates with me. It´s interesting how readers can be so different, at the end a lot of it is about taste. That being said, I have been thinking about giving The Blade Itself another try. Because I REALLY liked the characters, and as time passed, sometimes I catch myself wondering what ended up happening to them.
As a huge ASOIAF fan, I'd say give it another shot. I felt the same way about the first book, but I really enjoyed the next two.
@@deadlyk12538 I see a lot of people saying that the next two books are great, so I think I will give it another try, especially if ASOIAF fans like them, it might be something in there for me :P
I am totally the contrary to you, too. I didn't like Martin a lot, but Abercrombie definitely satisfies my story hunger ^^
Personally, I am happy you think about giving first blade another try. Hope you will enjoy it more next time :)
I love ASOIAF and I also really like Abercrombie’s writing. That said, I didn’t end up enjoying the First Law (I read all 6). By the time each story ended I just felt bad. There’s something about his characters, I just couldn’t root for any of them (and it’s not just bc they’re bad. I liked Jorg in the Broken Empire and he was a huge ass).
These books.... I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!! Omg I just love Joe Abercrombie so much. The audiobooks are also excellent. EXCELLENT.
Daniel convinced me to put this book on my TBR from the fantastic collab you guys did. I appreciated the spoiler free review as I’m looking forward to reading it soon!!
I just finished it 2 days ago and absolutely loved it! 100 pages into the second one at the moment.
One of my favourite series, it only gets better. One of the best produced audiobooks too along with the Dresden files.
Say one thing about Joe Abercrombie, he likes be repetitive when it comes to character motivations 😂
It's better to do a thing than live in fear of it
You have to be realistic about these things.
That scenery. 😍 Be still my heart. I am actually taking some books to my local used book store tomorrow and I’m hoping they have this in stock because I’ve been dying to read this series.
I agree that this book is A LOT of set up but I loved Glokta and Logen so much that I didn’t mind. I also liked that there’s no a ton of world building just because I feel I get enough of that in my Stormlights and the likes. So glad you got around to this! I’m reading book 2 now and loving it.
Just started this series, and I'll say "ditto" to everything you just said. I love well-developed characters, and Abercrombie hits it out of the park with Glotka and Logen Ninefingers.
I loved these books so much!!! Joe Abercrombie's writing style just blew me away and I now consider him one of my favorite authors. I read all his books this year except one that I'm saving for when I need saving from a reading slump. I can't wait to see your reviews and thoughts on the next two books! This has become one of my favorite series of all time. ^_^
I just finished this as well and MY GOODNESS! The fighting scenes are some of the best I've read. They really had my heart pumping. I can't wait to start the next one!!
This book was a unique experience for me. My initial reaction was very positive but I minded more that ot had no plot. Bit then, days and weeks passed and I couldn’t stop thinking about the book and I started to love it more and more until I couldn’t help myself and picked up the second boon which OMG it’s book of the year for me as of today. Coincidentally I am starting book three today! I am glad Merphy loved the book too
My favourite book in a long time. It got me back into fantasy after so many years of a lull.
I just seen a video with you and a guy listing fantasy books from beginner to advanced this books is the one I decided to go with. Getting ready to listen to a audiobook of it now. Best wishes to you and yours .
Glokta is by far my favorite character probably ever so far! I’m currently reading Before They Are Hanged and loving it! Super excited to see where it goes.
I picked up this book a LONG time ago and just never read it. Merphy's review is making me want to bump it up in my reading list, though!
I’ve just finished this book. I can’t describe how much I loved it. Joe Abercrombie is my new favourite writer. I have just started book 2 and so far loving it. It felt great coming back to these characters again. Love your reviews btw no matter what style you do them in. Can’t wait to see what you think of book 2
Joe Abercrombie writes about violence so well. He makes a disembowelment sound like poetry.
Yeah, I mean... you have to be realistic about these things...
The ambivalence between the darkness and the light of the world/characters is definitely gripping!
I just finished this book today and searched your videos to comment! Can't wait to start the second one tonight!
Better written then ASOIAF? Oh Merphy, you hurt my heart. How about we just go with “more readable?” LOL I’m really glad you liked book 1; can’t wait to hear you thoughts on book 2. I can’t predict whether or not you’ll like the direction it goes but I will say he continues to execute his goals for the story just as flawlessly throughout the series. And it is one trilogy and 3 stand alones.
Yeah, Martin's writing is on a whole other level than The Blade Itself. I like both books but they aren't even the same in terms of writing. The Blade Itself is very basic, straight forward....which isn't a bad thing.
Lol I get that people love Martin's writing but I just don't. I'm excited to keep reading and discussing though!
Absolutely love your review! Wish I could do reviews like you. Never know what to say after I read a book.
You made me want to pick up this book.
Another book series that started with a heavy on setup volume is the Anne McCaffrey Dragonriders of Pern launch title Dragonflight. The follow up novels, Dragonquest and The White Dragon were worth the set up.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! I read the trilogy and the first stand alone so far and loved them all. Who would of thought that a ruthless torturer could be a favorite character?
Your immediate feelings are well placed. The story gets even better in books 2 and 3. Sand dan Glokta is one of the great literary characters ever. I like The First Law even better than the Mistborn and Gentlemen Bastard series. The sequels/standalones are phenomenal too. Haven’t yet started A Little Hatred but it’s on my TBR.
I’m about 30 pages from the end of this book and it’s become my favourite fantasy read in a looooong time. Beating the first 4 wheel of time Name of wind Locke lamora Malayan book 1 or dark tower book 1... I’m absolutely loving this book and can’t wait to continue...
"Still alive, I'm still alive."
I first read these as they were published in the UK and loved the series.
I've just returned to them via the audiobooks and found a new depth to them, they are so well read with beautiful character acting.
I’m so glad you and Elliot are both reading First Law. You don’t have to worry about finishing ASOIF because it ain’t gonna be finished
I JUST finished the trilogy and I loved it. Agreed, the first book was just setup and thus a little bit boring from a story point, but the characters... they might not be likeable good people, but some of the most interesting well written characters I have ever read about. I just really hardcore cared about what they did and what happened to them. Can't wait to dive deeper into this world with the standalone novels and the next trilogy. Grimdark isn't usually something I enjoy (and this is on the lighter side), but man, I loved this. Looking forward to your other reviews for the series.
I loved A Song of Ice and Fire but The First Law trilogy has almost surpassed it for me. So glad you enjoyed The Blade Itself and I’m sure you will enjoy the rest of the series! Can’t wait for your reviews.
I still really think you need to give ASoIaF more of a try... But I also think that you went into it (as many of us did...) not truly understanding the scope and material... Which is fine... I loved it my first read through, and before understanding it's true depth... But nooowwww... Now I know better... And Martin really is probably the most brilliant writer since dante... I mean... I'm a religious history major, and have taken a whole seminar (less than 10 students and the dean of the department) dissecting Dante... And I'm telling you... Martins work can be analyzed just the same! (in world context obviously...)
I've had this (and Lies of Locke Lamora) on my shelf for years and haven't gotten around to it yet. Between you and a couple others talking about it, I really want to read it now.
I hope you try the Shattered Sea trilogy by the same author one day. They are some of my favourite books!
The next two books expand the world significantly. One of my favorite stories (as a trilogy).
Great contrasts so in that way it is balanced. Needs the three books to get the world. But the part of the world he does reveal is pretty good.
Hey, do you mind letting us know what camera/mic do you use when filming outside?
I read this book awhile ago and loved it, but for some reason never got around to the sequel. I think this is going to be the first on my TBR after finishing Mistborn Era 1.
If you loved this book, you're definitely in for a treat for the next two in the first trilogy. SO good! Abercrombie sure knows how to build characters. This is one of the few series where I would constantly flip back and forth on characters and their decisions. Also, I just love Ninefingers so much.
Loved the Dogman chapters. They cracked me up and made me want to cry all at once
I needed more plot. It was so much setup that there wasn't enough to excite me to continue with the series.
I understand. It was very much a set up book
How much would you say compared to the first two Mistborn books?
Because I had to force myself through the second one as there were seemingly endless plotholes and unknown factors that seemed to have no justifications. But maybe that's just me...
You messed up, it's amazing.
M. Vipsanius Agrippa yea... I've read the first one twice... And it was meh... After kjell... I just don't really care...
I like these casual chatty vids with more minimal editing. They seem easy for you to make and say all your thoughts--what's not to love?
Great review, but I really disagree that the Blade Itself is "better written" than a Game Of Thrones, and I think both of the authors would disagree as well. The Blade Itself was Abercrombie's first book, and even though neither of these authors are known for their incredible prose, A Game Of Thrones was written after Martin had already had a career writing SF and a TV writing career as well. The prose in a Game Of Thrones was just so much more smooth and expert than the Blade Itself. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it.
I totally understand people not having the same preference as me, though I disagree that Martin being more experienced makes him a better writer. Of course, that's why I prefaced it with saying it was my opinion, everyone likes different things 🙂
I really don't know why people put this world as so dark and grim.. it's just a realistic normal world
It's been a few years since I last read this but I remember the trilogy just getting better and better. The first two standalone follow up novel's where also good and book 6, Red Country, was my favourite. I think I'll have to plan a complete reread as I believe Joe is going back to this world.
Still haven't read this, I'll find time to eventually
I really like this review. Abercrombie totally hooked me and I actually didn't read the others but am starting now. Can't wait as Glokta just ......ah man I love him
I am always happy when new people try Abercrombie's books. And especially so if they like them :D
Say one thing for Logan ninefingers, say he’s a damn interesting protagonist!
Glad you loved this, it’s one of my all time favourite series with some complex characters which felt like they really inhabited this world.
I’d have to agree that the world could be better fleshed out in book one.
Great review Merphy. Imo The First Law books are much closer in style, and vibe to the Gentleman Bastards series than ASOIAF anyway.
Aaaaand First Law just ticked up a few spots higher on my TBR. Thank you!
Don't worry! GRRM also hasn't finished A song of Ice and Fire!
that being said, will be checking this one out, have been meaning for a while really.
The second book will drag you in and never let you go. I never met characters that I loved and hated so much at the same time....
lol I started like that but by the end I just hated them and it depressed me.
what i really like about these reviews is that you say barely nothing about the plot. Like you, I prefer to be as blind as possible when I start a book but so many reviewers do little more than go on and on about the plot (even when they say it's spoiler free). It's definitely on my TBR!
Merphy: First time commenter. Been watching your videos for about a year now. It was this review of your first Joe Abercrombie book that finally prompted me to write my first comment - and here it is in logline form:
Glad you liked "The Blade Itself"!
I'll tell you where I'm coming from. I'm an older guy who grew up alongside old school fantasy, with LOTR remaining my favorite reading experience of all time. Then, I drifted away from the genre. Like, for decades. Until finally, 3-4 years ago, I stumbled across "The Name of The Wind"...
...and I've been reading 80-90% fantasy ever since. Catching up. Discovering an entire generation of new fantasy authors that have taken the genre to new levels. Yes, I've enjoyed many of your own favorites: Brandon Sanderson, Scott Lynch, Robin Hobb (okay, maybe that last one was one of mine). But my "Tier 1" authors are some of the acknowledged Titans: JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin, Patrick Rothfuss... and one surprising young entry who is not a household name - Joe Abercrombie. Like you, this was most surprising to me because I'm not a fan of ultra violence (or "torture porn" as I sometimes refer to it) so I had little expectations for a sub genre called "grimdark" which I had never heard of before.
But Joe Abercrombie surprised me, and settled onto my shortlist of "Tier 1" fantasy authors the moment I finished the first book I read in his "First Law" universe. For me, that happened to be "The Heroes" (chronologically, the 5th book in the series, which consists of the opening trilogy and then 3 more standalone novels) which is still my favorite. But they are all well written, with the biggest surprise being how much HUMOR Mr. Abercrombie is able to wring out of such potentially... well, grim and dark material. All six of the First Law books are worthy...
...and I hope you continue to enjoy YOUR journey into Joe Abercrombie's often surprisingly "jollylight" world!
Hello Todd, thank you so much for the comment, I'm glad you've fallen back into love with reading! Robin Hobb is on my list. I've only read one of her books so far but I plan to read more soon. Thank you again for this comment, it was really sweet and I'm happy to hear from you!
I don’t think First Law is better written than Asoiaf, but it is certainly more reader friendly. I just finished Last Argument of Kings and it was absolutely fantastic. That being said, asoiaf is on a whole different scale. The world is much larger, and the characters are more complex. But I think the biggest reason I prefer asoiaf at least a little more is because it is more nuanced than pretty much anything else I’ve read, so many little details you’ll miss the first time you read the series.
But First Law was still incredible and I still would recommend it to anyone who wants a similar but easier experience as asoiaf
Agree! asoiaf is hard to read even if you are super into it. And if grim dark is not usually your thing, I can see how it can be a turnoff for some people. But I love the nuance on asoiaf, the characters are so deep it´s incredible.
Martin's prose is more dense because his world is bigger. I think she didn't understand that
@@gut.6925 I don't think it's a matter of not understanding. Just preference
Gustavo M. To be clear, I’m not bashing Merphy’s preference! At the end of the day the two series are quite different so it’s no surprise that many would prefer one over the other
@@merphynapier42 it's just a matter of preference indeed. I like both series a lot , they just have different scopes
I loved this trilogy and the stand alones . They seemed to keep getting better every book . That or I just loved the characters so much I couldn’t wait till the next book . Got my sub so I can follow along ,hope you like them as much as I did .
Totally agree with your opinion. I Just finish the book the day before yesterday so We were reading the book at the same time and your pros and cons are mine too. But I have to add a new one: WHERE IS THE MAP? I really really needed a map while i was reading. Am I the only one who misses it?
Just finished it myself. Really enjoyed it.
I found the books fun to read and very engaging, loved the characters. I was just disappointed that the end was quite a downer. I know that's the point of grimdark, but still
I love your outside videos 😭💕
Great review! Great format! Great job! Thank you
My best friend just recommended this book to me and now you so I'm definitely reading this as soon as I can get it as an interlibrary loan. 👍
Can’t wait till you get further on this series; the books just get better and better. Probably my fav fantasy series after LotR. Please don’t skip out on the standalone trilogy as they are, IMO, better than the original trilogy!
I can't stop grinning. I just love Glokta. You'll get to see the world in the second volume. I don't know what to say about Last Argument of Kings because some of my favourite scenes, but also some scenes I hate are in there.
I've got a question for you, Merphy: why does Ardee West, who is not a stupid girl, agree to some sort of relationship with Jezal? Can you tell? :)
At this point, I'm not sure! I feel like anyone can surprise me so I'm not making predictions yet, just enjoying the ride 😊
ASOIAF comments alone got me (and they have nothing to do with this books but is a sentiment to which I can relate). You haven't steered me wrong yet so I'll give it a try.
Every character has a dark side and a sliver of redeeming characteristics that just makes you think they will have a great arc moving forward. I'm just on book 2 now
There are so many deep layered characters in this universe he needed an entire book to write the players. He writes the game in the follow ups.
Thanks for that video! it was a really great review and I enjoyed it. Could you do one on The Bartimaeus Trilogy?
I was interested to see your thoughts on this. Glotka was one of the most interesting characters I've ever read. But other than that the book was boring and had a very vague plot, also a fairly predictable, standard classic fantasy plot. Im not sure if I'm going to continue or not.
I didn't find it predictable, but I do agree that there wasn't much plot. This was very much a book of set up
People love this book. I felt like there was little to no plot. Barely any story going on. I feel like of read books with just as much character building yet also have a good plot and world building. I won’t continue this series. Now everyone can commence with telling me how much of a moron I am, curse my parents out, etc.
Hi. First of all, I adore your channel and I've spent the last few weeks watching hundreds of your videos. I love your spoiler free reviews and the enthusiastic way you talk about books (especially when it's all over the place like in this video because I can feel your excitment and this makes me excited for the book, too). So there are a lot of new books on on my wishlist now and this will end up on it as well.
There is just one topic that is very dear to my heart and that's ASOIAF. I don't think it's a series everyone should read (because preferences exists) and I understand when people don't like it for whatever reason and DNF it. I'm just curious if they do it knowing what they are missing. So basically there is the plot that is spelled out and there is another plot that you have to puzzle together on your own from the information hidden between the lines and in repetitive descriptions. Well, you don't have to because the books work well enough if you just follow the obvious plot, but it's one of the reasons the books are written the way they are written. Plus: only through these hidden details you will realise which characters are lying and why they are lying. Which also means you can't trust anything that's written in dialogue but constantly have to question every spoken sentence... So if you like mysteries, solving puzzles and rereading thousands of pages over and over again (like me), I wouldn't give up on the series, yet. But if you don't like this kind of thing at all and are bored by all the descriptions, violence, etc. then ASOIAF is probably not that enjoyable. (I'm sorry, this got really long.)
Glokta is maybe my favorite fantasy character I've ever read. Certainly in my top 3. Step, click... pain.
I honestly think Joe Abercrombie does a phenomenal job of writing characters that truly feel like people despite the fantasy setting. Sure each character is arguably a terrible person, yet each one has good qualities. the more we learn the easier it is to understand why they are the way they are and thus we are compelled to empathize with them.
Can I suggest Guy Gavriel Kay? Re reading Lions of Al-rassan atm and forgot how much I enjoy him.
I love all Book´s of this Series. It´s perfekt if you seek Fantasy for Adults.
I know this is 5 months later but I'm halfway through this book and loving it!
I think the world-building isn't really very strong until the stand-alone novels. He doesn't really start exploring deeply until Best Served Cold. But once he starts really going, his character building doesn't suffer in the slightest.
I love how you make me want to read a book so badly, and then when I look for it I find out it is not translated in french and it is so frustrating for me because I am not that confortable reading english !
Abercrombie is the worst like that..
He just reaches out of the page, grabs me by the neck and refuses to let go !
Absolutely love his character work, dialogues and twists. Agree wholeheartedly that these books far outshine that Ice and Fire thing, and deserve a whole lot more attention.
I will be starting this series soon looking forward to it.
Merphy... put... down... the... COFFEE
It was hot chocolate. So totally okay to swing around right?
Merphy,
I agree with most of what you said, but I feel like you're looking for world building on the scale of Brandon Sanderson or something...
SPOILERS
Just a few examples of world buidling, you got to see the cultural differences between the North Men and the Union.
You got to go into the House of the Master Maker and see all kinds of cool stuff.
You got to see Ferro in Gurkhul, you got see that they live in another kind of culture and have all kinds of interesting things going on there.
You also know that Glotka was captured and tortured in Gurkhul years before.
You got to learn that Bayaz's biggest adversary, Khalul, is in Gurkhul.
You got to learn that Bayaz has been influencing the union for years.
By comparison, I read that series Steel and Fire by Jordan Rivet that you recommended, and it has much less world building in my opinion.
Again, I agree with most of what you said, but I disagree that I doesn't have a lot of world building. Definitely compared to The Stormlight Archive, but that series is Brandon's masterwork.
For me the three books feel more like chapters of a gigantic book.
The audio books are excellent. At the end of book 2 I jumped around on my porch fist pumping.
Say one thing for JRfnK... He's psyched for book 3.... And ur Before They are Hanged review.