“You sow bloody seeds, you reap a bloody harvest”
5 stars
JOE ABERCROMBIE DOES IT AGAIN. If you couldn’t tell, I loved Best Served Cold. It works for me on so many levels as a revenge story and has a lot of hallmarks that I’ve come to love about Abercrombie’s writing–disillusioned soldiers and warriors, complex dynamics that flip from love to antagonism, and a wide cast of characters with their own motivations and doing their own thing that will inevitably influence what the others are doing.
The main focus of the book is Monza, a mercenary, and her quest for revenge on the seven men that betrayed her and her beloved brother. This opening scene is absolutely brutal and why I think Abercrombie’s action scenes are the best outside of those big battles that he also does well. I really found myself rooting for Monza while also understanding that she and her brother are just another cog in the messed up machine that is the First Law world. They killed and betrayed people and now they’re getting betrayed and killed.
As Monza embarks on her quest for revenge and enlists the help of various characters, we see the toll it takes on her. I’m not a fan of preachy revenge stories where the lesson is that revenge wasn’t great all along unless it’s done well, and I do think Abercrombie does this. He nails the futility of it and the sacrifices that are necessary along the way–those sacrifices you make of your own health and the relationships you have left–but Monza never doubts her goal or has moral qualms over it. She’s very willing to pay the price, even if it means dragging down others with her, and I admire that sense of determination which Abercrombie does not romanticize.
While Monza is the focus, I do think the other characters outshine her in terms of development and charisma. I wasn’t expecting to be as interested in Caul Shivers as I was and seeing his moral qualms and how his life has shaped him and then his relationship with Monza was great. He goes through quite a journey. Similarly, Cosca (whom I kept calling Costco in my head lol) brought a much-needed levity and humor to the book while also acting as a mirror to Monza. Both Caul and Cosca are, like many other Abercrombie characters, unpredictable and their impact on Monza and the plot is great. I love seeing the cause and effect that their decisions have.
Abercrombie’s sense of humor is also just great. There are some unexpected silly moments and he’s not above poking fun at his characters. His characters aren’t just stoic badasses but also make jokes and have softer and vulnerable moments with others and themselves. When they bond or snatch a brief moment of happiness, it gives them more humanity and also makes it more tragic that they live in the world that they do, which doesn’t often reward kindness or goodness.
I did enjoy the first half of the book a lot more than the second half, which dragged a bit for me but still loved the book overall. Best Served Cold is about the toll of living in the First Law world and about the hypocrisy of honor and the cycle of violence, and I loved pretty much every moment of it.
P.S. I listened to the audiobook and, once again, Steven Pacey is amazing.
“The world is all change, my friend. We all would like to go back, but the past is done. We must look forwards. We must change ourselves, however painful it may be, or be left behind.”
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