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I first learned about Joe Abercrombie from Amazon.com, which suggested the author for people who like Patrick Rothfuss. I bought the first one at a local independent bookstore in Glendale, Mystery & Imagination Bookstore (238 N. Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91203, 818-545-0206) who had also turned me on to Rothfuss' The Name Of The Wind in the first place.
Abercrombie is another hard-core fantasy author like Rothfuss, with swords, wizards, duels, kings, sieges and hand-to-hand combat. Lots of hand-to-hand combat.
Although the three books are really three parts of one very long, engaging story each book also has its own story arc which allows them to be read independently (although probably not out of order).
The Blade Itself
The first book in the series introduces the trilogy's main characters, namely San dan Glokta (the heartless inquisitor and former expert swordsman who was caught and tortured by the enemies of The Union and left a crippled, bitter man), Jezal dan Luthar (the reigning expert swordsman who also happens to be a handsome, self-centered twit), Bayaz (who may or may not be a great wizard of antiquity come back to life) and Logen Ninefingers (a brutal, uncivilized Northman who has such a deadly and violent reputation his name alone makes strong warriors nervous) and The Dogman (who is currently leading Logen's band of Northern barbarian killers in his absence). Abercrombie plays with many familiar cliches of epic fantasy, often turning them on their head with obvious relish to the laugh-out-loud delight of the reader. As first books in a trilogy go, The First Law does a good job of setting up the future action while still containing enough tension and thrills itself to be a worthy read.
Before They Are Hanged
The second book is about three main story lines: Glokta is trying to save himself and the city of Dagoska while under siege by the savages from the South who openly defy The First Law (Thou Shall Not Eat The Flesh Of Men), Bayaz is leading a band of misfits to the end of the world on a quest to find an object of power to save the world from the so-called Eaters, and there is a gigantic clash of armies in the North which signals war is coming to the Union sooner rather than later. Again, Abercrombie walks a fine line between tweaking epic fantasy conventions and following them to the letter. The main strength of the book is his characterizations, which he supports by letting the reader see the internal dialogue of many of his characters which at first blush seemed to be very unprepossessing. However, once you see the world and situations (literally) through their eyes it puts a more positive spin on their actions, even when they are behaving badly. Before They Are Hanged suffers slightly from being the middle book in a trilogy, but very slightly. For me, part of that was due to the bigger role the strong female character of Ferro Maljinn plays in this section of the story.
Last Argument of Kings
Abercrombie takes the final book and resolves all of the storylines from the second book (most of the main ones are actually resolved by the end of the second book); he also develops his characters to places the reader was almost certainly not expecting. I don't want to give away any spoilers (read the books yourself, they are well worth the time, especially if you are a fan of epic fantasy) but some of the characters that we generally believed were "bad" end up becoming "good" and some of the characters that we thought were "good" do some very bad things indeed. Besides characterization, Abercrombie's great skill is in writing fight scenes that make the reader believe one is particpiating in hand-to-hand combat or the hart of a battle right there with the characters. He really outdoes himself in that regard in Last Argument of Kings, and that alone probably makes the last book the best of the series. As before, Abercombie's main goal is to upend reader's expectations, of genre, character and story and he succeeds on many levels. That being said, there's a fourth book set in the Universe of the First Law trilogy books called Best Served Cold which I really have no interest in reading. I'm invested in these characters and have many unanswered questions, mainly "what happens next?" and "Where the heck is Logen Ninefingers?"
Abercrombie is another hard-core fantasy author like Rothfuss, with swords, wizards, duels, kings, sieges and hand-to-hand combat. Lots of hand-to-hand combat.
Although the three books are really three parts of one very long, engaging story each book also has its own story arc which allows them to be read independently (although probably not out of order).
The Blade Itself
The first book in the series introduces the trilogy's main characters, namely San dan Glokta (the heartless inquisitor and former expert swordsman who was caught and tortured by the enemies of The Union and left a crippled, bitter man), Jezal dan Luthar (the reigning expert swordsman who also happens to be a handsome, self-centered twit), Bayaz (who may or may not be a great wizard of antiquity come back to life) and Logen Ninefingers (a brutal, uncivilized Northman who has such a deadly and violent reputation his name alone makes strong warriors nervous) and The Dogman (who is currently leading Logen's band of Northern barbarian killers in his absence). Abercrombie plays with many familiar cliches of epic fantasy, often turning them on their head with obvious relish to the laugh-out-loud delight of the reader. As first books in a trilogy go, The First Law does a good job of setting up the future action while still containing enough tension and thrills itself to be a worthy read.
Before They Are Hanged
The second book is about three main story lines: Glokta is trying to save himself and the city of Dagoska while under siege by the savages from the South who openly defy The First Law (Thou Shall Not Eat The Flesh Of Men), Bayaz is leading a band of misfits to the end of the world on a quest to find an object of power to save the world from the so-called Eaters, and there is a gigantic clash of armies in the North which signals war is coming to the Union sooner rather than later. Again, Abercrombie walks a fine line between tweaking epic fantasy conventions and following them to the letter. The main strength of the book is his characterizations, which he supports by letting the reader see the internal dialogue of many of his characters which at first blush seemed to be very unprepossessing. However, once you see the world and situations (literally) through their eyes it puts a more positive spin on their actions, even when they are behaving badly. Before They Are Hanged suffers slightly from being the middle book in a trilogy, but very slightly. For me, part of that was due to the bigger role the strong female character of Ferro Maljinn plays in this section of the story.
Last Argument of Kings
Abercrombie takes the final book and resolves all of the storylines from the second book (most of the main ones are actually resolved by the end of the second book); he also develops his characters to places the reader was almost certainly not expecting. I don't want to give away any spoilers (read the books yourself, they are well worth the time, especially if you are a fan of epic fantasy) but some of the characters that we generally believed were "bad" end up becoming "good" and some of the characters that we thought were "good" do some very bad things indeed. Besides characterization, Abercrombie's great skill is in writing fight scenes that make the reader believe one is particpiating in hand-to-hand combat or the hart of a battle right there with the characters. He really outdoes himself in that regard in Last Argument of Kings, and that alone probably makes the last book the best of the series. As before, Abercombie's main goal is to upend reader's expectations, of genre, character and story and he succeeds on many levels. That being said, there's a fourth book set in the Universe of the First Law trilogy books called Best Served Cold which I really have no interest in reading. I'm invested in these characters and have many unanswered questions, mainly "what happens next?" and "Where the heck is Logen Ninefingers?"
Author: Joe Abercrombie.
Title: The Blade Itself (The First Law, Book 1).
Length: 531 pages.
Publisher: Pyr.
Date: September 6, 2007.
OVERALL GRADE: A- (3.66/4.0).
PLOT: A.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A-.
Title: The Blade Itself (The First Law, Book 1).
Length: 531 pages.
Publisher: Pyr.
Date: September 6, 2007.
OVERALL GRADE: A- (3.66/4.0).
PLOT: A.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A-.
Author: Joe Abercrombie.
Title: Before They Are Hanged. (The First Law, Book 2
Length: 543 pages.
Publisher: Pyr.
Date: March 25, 2008.
OVERALL GRADE: B+ (3.50/4.0).
PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: B+.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A-.
Title: Before They Are Hanged. (The First Law, Book 2
Length: 543 pages.
Publisher: Pyr.
Date: March 25, 2008.
OVERALL GRADE: B+ (3.50/4.0).
PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: B+.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A-.
Author: Joe Abercrombie.
Title: The Last Argument of Kings. (The First Law, Book 3)
Length: 639 pages.
Publisher: Pyr.
Date: September 23, 2008.
OVERALL GRADE: A/A- (3.75/4.0).
PLOT: A.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A-.
WRITING: A-.
Title: The Last Argument of Kings. (The First Law, Book 3)
Length: 639 pages.
Publisher: Pyr.
Date: September 23, 2008.
OVERALL GRADE: A/A- (3.75/4.0).
PLOT: A.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: A-.
WRITING: A-.
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