Browsed by
Tag: Grimdark

Book Review: The Wisdom of Crowds (The Age of Madness, #3) by Joe Abercrombie

Book Review: The Wisdom of Crowds (The Age of Madness, #3) by Joe Abercrombie

ARC provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover illustration by: Tomas Almeida

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Age of Madness (Book #3 of 3), First Law World (Book, #10 of 10)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy

Pages: 529 pages (UK Hardback)

Published: 14th September 2021 by Gollancz (UK) & Orbit (US)


Joe Abercrombie is a genius storyteller. The Wisdom of Crowds is one of the best books of the year, a masterfully crafted conclusion to The Age of Madness trilogy.

“What is the point of gathering knowledge if one does not pass it on? What is the point of growing old if one does not try to shape the future?”

Read More Read More

Petrik’s Top 10 Books of the Year So Far (1st January-30th June 2021)

Petrik’s Top 10 Books of the Year So Far (1st January-30th June 2021)

Click here if you want to see the list of all the books I’ve read so far this year: Petrik’s Year in Books (2021)

Between 1st January 2021 until 30th June 2021, I’ve read and reviewed 51 books (25k pages).

Please read this first. There will be three rules I set in this list in order for me to give appreciation to more authors rather than having only a few authors hoarding this list. These rules allow me to highlight more authors, and at the same time, I’ll also be able to include both new and older books (many of them still need attention) that I read within this year.

  • Rereads aren’t included.
  • One book per author.
  • The books listed here are not all exclusively published this year; the list consists of the top books I read for the first time within this year. Non-2021 published books on this list will have their first date of publication included.

Do note that although there’s a rank to this list, I HIGHLY recommend every book/series listed below because I loved all of them immensely, and they received a rating of 4.5 or 5 out of 5 stars from me. Without further ado, here are the top 10 books I’ve read this year so far! (All full reviews of the books listed can be found on Novel Notions and my Goodreads page.)

Read More Read More

Read-a-long for Joe Abercrombie’s The Age of Madness Trilogy (A Little Hatred, Chapters 10-18)

Read-a-long for Joe Abercrombie’s The Age of Madness Trilogy (A Little Hatred, Chapters 10-18)

Hi everyone,

Petrik and Eon here, we’ll keep this introduction brief. We’re so excited that we get to be the second-in-line to host the read-along event for A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie. It’s truly an honor for both of us to be given this opportunity, especially because Joe Abercrombie’s books are some of our favorite books of all time. Today, we’ll be discussing Chapter 10-18 of A Little Hatred. There will be heavy spoilers for these chapters, so if you haven’t read the book, please go read them first!

Read More Read More

Book Review + Cover Reveal: Dark Sea’s End (Beyond Ash and Sand, #1) by Richard Nell

Book Review + Cover Reveal: Dark Sea’s End (Beyond Ash and Sand, #1) by Richard Nell

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by: Felix Ortiz

Cover art designed by: STK.Kreations

Dark Sea’s End by Richard Nell

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Beyond Ash and Sand (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy

Word count: Roughly 80k words

Published: 1st June 2021 by Richard Nell (Self-Published)


Dark Sea’s End is a heart-pounding return to the world of Ash and Sand, and I’m sure the future of it will be as brilliant.

Read More Read More

Book Review: Priest of Gallows (War for the Rose Throne, #3) by Peter McLean

Book Review: Priest of Gallows (War for the Rose Throne, #3) by Peter McLean

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo

ARC provided by the publisher—Jo Fletcher—in exchange for an honest review.

Priest of Gallows by Peter McLean

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: War for the Rose Throne (Book #3 of 4)

Genre: Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy

Pages: 384 pages (Paperback edition)

Published: 27th May 2021 by Jo Fletcher


Priest of Gallows was addictive and instantly immersive as ever.

Read More Read More

Book Review: Red Country (First Law World, #6) by Joe Abercrombie

Book Review: Red Country (First Law World, #6) by Joe Abercrombie

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo

(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in July 2017)

Cover art illustrated by: Didier Graffet & Dave Senior

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: First Law World (Book #6 of 10)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, Westerns

Pages: 452 pages (UK paperback edition)

Published: 18th October 2012 by Gollancz (UK) and 23rd October 2012 by Orbit (US)


Say one thing for Abercrombie, say he knows how to make me love his book even when the setting is Western.

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Heroes (First Law World, #5) by Joe Abercrombie

Book Review: The Heroes (First Law World, #5) by Joe Abercrombie

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo

(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in July 2017)

Cover art illustrated by: Didier Graffet & Dave Senior

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: First Law World (Book #5 of 10)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy

Pages: 664 pages (UK paperback edition)

Published: 27th January 2011 by Gollancz (UK) and 7th February 2011 by Orbit (US)


The Heroes depicted an unforgettable three days of intricate battles; Joe Abercrombie has once again proved himself to be my shining star in grimdark fantasy.

Read More Read More

Book Review: Best Served Cold (First Law World, #4) by Joe Abercrombie

Book Review: Best Served Cold (First Law World, #4) by Joe Abercrombie

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo

(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in July 2017)

Cover art illustrated by: Didier Graffet & Dave Senior

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: First Law World (Book #4 of 10)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy

Pages: 664 pages (UK paperback edition)

Published: 5th June 2009 by Gollancz (UK) and 29th July 2009 by Orbit (US)


A magnificent tale of vengeance filled with bloody actions, betrayal, and humor.

“One cannot grow without pain. One cannot improve without it. Suffering drives us to achieve great things.”

Read More Read More

Book Review: Heroes Die (The Acts of Caine, #1) by Matthew Woodring Stover

Book Review: Heroes Die (The Acts of Caine, #1) by Matthew Woodring Stover

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo

Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Acts of Caine (Book #1 of 4)

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark, Grimdark science fantasy, Dystopia

Pages: 627 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 21st July 1998 by Del Rey (US) and 27th May 2013 by Orbit (UK)


It’s unbelievable that this insanely terrific story is hidden behind this horrific cover art. Heroes Die was absolutely bloody and glorious.

“Does it matter? When you tell a story loud enough and long enough, a story that plays right into people’s worst fears of betrayal, it grows its own truth.”

Read More Read More

Petrik’s Top 20 Books of the Year (2020)

Petrik’s Top 20 Books of the Year (2020)

The featured image above was specifically designed by Felix Ortiz for Novel Notions’ Top 20 Lists. Check out his portfolio, he’s brilliant.


This list is also available on my Booktube Channel if that’s what you preferred: https://youtu.be/1gXaV7SQVio

 

Click here if you want to see the list of all the books I’ve read this year: Petrik’s Year in Books (2020)

Read More Read More