Eli

Keep in mind I am just dipping my toes into modern westerns.

Good:
Great prose and storytelling as usual from McCarthy. The plot and characters are consistently entertaining/engaging and well-fleshed-out. Love a good bromance between a few cowboys; John Grady and Rawlins play off each other so well and Blevins plays a great third wheel.

Bad:
Not too much negative to say overall. In essence the weight of the story leaves a little bit to be desired when compared to other McCarthy that I've read in the past such as the Road. I never felt a truly emotionally resonant moment that I've felt before with McCarthy.

Ugly:
The romance subplot felt a bit weak but maybe I'm just a bit of a romance hater.

Good:
The book does a decent enough job of setting up a scenario that makes the reader want to continue on with the next one. Logen Ninefingers is a highlight viewpoint that engages right from the start and Inquisitor Glokta isn't quite as immediately engaging but does eventually hook you into caring.

Bad:
Throughout a good portion of the plot a few of the character plot-lines leave you just wanting to skip forward to the others (namely Glokta and Jezal). The Logen Ninefingers viewpoint chapters carry a good portion of the beginning of the book. World-building was a bit of a weak point as well. At least in this first book the setting is quite run-of-the-mill. The historical setting is a bit more intriguing but not quite so developed so far.

Ugly:
Not too much that really offends in my eyes.

Good:
Once again the Northmen viewpoints carry this book similarly to the previous entry. By far the best book for the Inquisitor Glokta plot-lines; his chapters are consistently entertaining and engaging beyond the previous two books. The world-building and historical implications bloom and flourish and continue to bolster the plot in pleasant ways.

Bad:
Certain plot-lines are setup (i.e. Jezal becoming king) that ended up being far too predictable. (Perhaps this was intentional by Abercrombie, I'm not so sure)

Ugly:
Bloody-Nine chapters get progressively more and m0re tedious. Abercrombie seems to push his tragic-hero-ness too far and it just becomes annoying and depressing to read his viewpoints. There was no reason really for him to become king and ends up mostly just being a waste of time.

Good:
The plot lines are overall more engaging in the followup to the Blade Itself owing in good part to the further development of the Northmen characters (Dogman, Tul Duru, Three Trees etc.). Bayaz's quest to the edge of the world also consistently engages and entertains. Character development and world-building takes large strides here and overall creates a much more immersive reading experience.

Bad:
The Glokta viewpoint never seems to maintain interest and comes off as more of a diversion/throwaway plotline (especially considering the overall implications to the overarching plot). This also suffers from the middle book issue of having an awful cliffhanger ending that leaves no satisfaction for the reader.

Ugly:
N/A