History Literature / BestServedCold

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Cosco brings up examples of [[MusicalAssassin performers who also fight]] by alliterating pairs of trades, until he can't think of something to alliterate with "jugglers."

* AntiHero: Monza. It's clear that she's not a nice person right from the beginning, but Orza's brutal betrayal of her keeps her sympathetic. However, as the story goes along, it becomes increasingly clear that Monza's revenge isn't exactly justice, and that she and her brother kind of had it coming.

* FantasticDrug: Husk, which Monza starts using to dull the pain of her many injuries. It appears to be a loose expy of opium.

** Cosca is a serious alcoholic and had long since reached the non-functional stage when introduced, but for the rest of the novel stays sober and functions quite well (despite desperately wanting a drink the whole time). At the end of the novel [[spoiler: in a subversion of Character Development, he immediately goes back to drinking the instant that it no longer serves his plans to stay sober]].

** Monza and Vitari disguise themselves as these during their plot to kill Aryo.

** Orso tries to get rid of the Murcatto Bros. to protect his throne, but instead he sets off a chain of events that leads to his own downfall at the battle of Ospria:

* MasterPoisoner: Morveer's profession. He even has apprentices.
* MasterSwordsman: Ganmark is one of the best swordsmen in the world. He completely outclasses Monza and Cosca.

* MeatgrinderSurgery: The way the Bone Thief puts Monza back together in this manner after her grisly attempted murder and near-fatal fall. It borders on a non-cyborg version of WeCanRebuildHim, as it seems pretty clear that there is no way normal Renaissance-era medical techniques could have healed someone who had suffered such extensive injuries.

* TokenGoodTeammate: Shivers, in the first half of the book, is the one who always questions the ruthlessness of Monza's schemes. [[spoiler:After his face heel turn, he's more brutal and nihilistic than she is]].

* WeaponBasedCharacterization: Monza favors a fencing sword and uses a [[CoolSword Calvez rapier]] throughout the story. Friendly is a self-admitted and ardent BladeEnthusiast, using a cleaver and knife to fight. Vitari still has her chain with the cruciform spike on the end, from ''The First Law''. Morveer and Day use poisoned needles and blowguns. Played with in Shivers' use of a sword [[spoiler: before losing his eye]] and an axe later, used to signify his [[spoiler: Face Heel Turn]].

* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler: Visserine. This marks Shiver's Face Heel Turn, the dissolution of trust between him and Monza, the end of Cosca's service, and the time at which the League of Eight's fall is seen as inevitable.]]