As the story winds its way through the complications that arise from the severe miscalculation of leaving Monza alive, we begin to learn that things aren't nearly so simple, in either linear progression or clarity of motivation. Assiduously, it continues the burgeoning trend within the genre of ruthlessly abandoning the depiction of worlds which suffer a vast maelstrom of conflict as sanitized and florid morality tales. As such, Abercrombie's work is of the type that falls under a spectrum often mislabeled as “morally ambiguous”, a misnomer explored by Matthew Woodring Stover, author of the criminally underrated The Acts of Caine series:
“People who try to tell you that life is about the struggle between Good and Evil are either 1) fooling themselves, 2) lying to you, or 3) both. As Caine himself put it, “When somebody starts talking about good and evil, better keep one hand on your wallet.”
The black-and-white approach of most fantasy is bullshit. It’s laziness. By positing a Force of Supernatural Evil, the writer is relieved of the necessity of motivating his antagonists. “The Devil made me do it!” Or his protagonists, for that matter. “Of course they must be destroyed! They’re EEEEEvil!””
In such spirit, a complex series of rages, obsessions, jealousies, ambitions and other like sources fuel the cacophony of conflicts that reside within this novel. These motivations--generally filled with the tawdry pettiness and dark pathos that would stoke many a human heart stuck in the corrupt, seedy cesspools woven throughout Styria--are finely hewed in their believability. The call of vengeance, for every character so called, never aspires to any degree of rational justice, any semblance of constructive action, but is instead an emotional reckoning, and in some cases, an excuse for mayhem.
There are a few missteps: several characters on the outskirts who never move beyond caricature, and a slight slackening in the strength of perspective from time to time. No matter, they are few, and a number of things enrich the experience further. One of the most important characters in this novel is absent and our introduction to his nature as the novel progresses marks a steady appreciation of empathy in unexpected places. Shivers' character arc is handled with the right sort of audacity. The return of mercenary Nicoma Cosca, and his cutting brand of humour, is joyous to behold and he never outstays his welcome. (something Steve Erikson's equally wonderful Malazan character, Kruppe, is sometimes guilty of) And perhaps the most pervasive holdover from Abercrombie's previous tales: the framing of the story within a grand conflict, and the implication of its grinding impact on the common populace - the futility of it all, however, is given a rest with a surprisingly positive ending note.
Ultimately, Best Served Cold is a slick fantasy departure into the revenge tale bursting with enough vigor to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of Abercrombie's preceding trilogy. It twists progressively darker as it reaches its conclusion, and the strength of characterization is entirely admissible with surprising depth and varying turns. Recommended.
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