The Joe Abercrombie Thread

Hatorade

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Just finished it, good start and look forward to the next two book in this trilogy. To mirror Dr.Retarded Dr.Retarded I got the most excited when characters I knew where in the chapter, really hard to care about these new characters when we just want to know what Logan or Ferro is up to.
 
Campbell1oo4

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I'm not sure Logan is going to be showing up. At the end of Red Country he is wicked old, and this takes place quite a few years after that novel.

Honestly, I'm okay with him introducing new characters, and killing off the old ones. If we just stick with the same characters it will get stale. I think the more time we spend with the new characters, the more we will come to appreciate them. I didn't like Jezal when I first 'met' him, but by the end of the third novel he felt like a friend.

Perhaps the same will happen with these new characters? I don't give a shit about Nightfall, or the new prince whose name I can't remember. But I really like the Young Lion and the chick with the ring in her nose. I'm on the fence about the industrial-lady.
 
wamphyr

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I for one really liked this new book.

The First Law trilogy books and the Far Country had some points in the middle of the narrative where the pace dragged a bit too much for my liking.
I just couldn't put the new book down and I liked everything about it.

But now I have to reread all of the old books again because this new one reminded me how awesome they were.

Also... spoiler pls...

When did Sand dan Glotka, the master Inquistior, became the enemy of Bayaz ?
The Fist Magi was the one who put him in power and now Sand dan Glotka is advising his daughter to stand clear of Bayaz and to let him know if Bayaz makes any contact with her ? And to avoid the Valint Bank ?

What did I miss here ?
 
Campbell1oo4

Campbell1oo4

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wamphyr said:
When did Sand dan Glotka, the master Inquistior, became the enemy of Bayaz ?
The Fist Magi was the one who put him in power and now Sand dan Glotka is advising his daughter to stand clear of Bayaz and to let him know if Bayaz makes any contact with her ? And to avoid the Valint Bank ?

What did I miss here ?
Click to expand...

I would not say that they are enemies. I would say that Sand dan Glotka recognizes Bayaz as the dangerous/powerful man that he is, and seeing as Glotka is also a dangerous/powerful man, he is treading carefully. He also knows that despite however clever/powerful he is, Bayaz could annihilate him.

Of course he would tell his daughter to steer clear of the old man. Just because Bayaz put Glotka in power doesn't mean they are friends. Glotka is trying to protect his daughter from Bayaz, because the wizard ruins everyone's lives. On top of that she is the daughter of the king, intelligent and capable. All three of those traits make her a better heir than Prince Orso.

Valint Bank is the banking house owned by Bayaz.
 
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Skinner

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I know most on FoH aren’t book collectors and (rightfully imo) squawk at paying a premium for small/limited speciality press editions, but I figured I’d post this here anyway:

CuriousKings are publishing 3 editions of the original First Law trilogy - Standard, Numbered, and Lettered, which will be listed for preorder Monday, May 16th, at 20:00 BST (3:00 PM EST). The standard edition price is listed at 200 squiggly dollars which is around 250 Freedom Bucks, but I wouldn’t be surprised if shipping pushes that near $300.

This is for the first book in the trilogy with guaranteed rights for the other two. The Dust Jacket art for the standard edition is from Tommy Arnold and is pretty sweet:

1652120277221.jpeg
 
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Dr.Retarded

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Man talk about a thread Necro. I'd completely forgotten that he was putting out the new stuff.

Has anyone got any comments on the second two books of the new trilogy?

I read the first one when it came out and then I didn't realize the other two had been published fairly rapidly. I really didn't care for the first book at all and I'm just wondering if it gets any better.

I love the first six books, but I just don't have any burning desire to check out the new ones.

Does any of the stuff with Logan, Ferro, and the Prophet come up at all? I just didn't care for any of the new characters, but I'd probably grab them if I knew the overall story was going to be continued or finished.
 
Drinsic

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Skinner said:
I know most on FoH aren’t book collectors and (rightfully imo) squawk at paying a premium for small/limited speciality press editions, but I figured I’d post this here anyway:

CuriousKings are publishing 3 editions of the original First Law trilogy - Standard, Numbered, and Lettered, which will be listed for preorder Monday, May 16th, at 20:00 BST (3:00 PM EST). The standard edition price is listed at 200 squiggly dollars which is around 250 Freedom Bucks, but I wouldn’t be surprised if shipping pushes that near $300.

This is for the first book in the trilogy with guaranteed rights for the other two. The Dust Jacket art for the standard edition is from Tommy Arnold and is pretty sweet:

View attachment 411698
Click to expand...
I'm a sucker for leatherbound editions of books I like, but goddamn those are some prices.
 
Randin

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Wow, good timing on rezzing this thread. I'm just a couple days away from wrapping up my first read of the First Law trilogy (about 400/600 pages through Last Argument of Kings at the moment). Good-ass books, but boy did he ever backload the trilogy with the major events--two full books of (very entertaining) foundation laying for fucking everything to pop off in book 3.
 
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Oblio

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I have to say Abercrombie has probably taken the throne of my favorite fantasy author. I have consumed all his books via Audio and the combination of his writing with Steven Pacey narrating is magic. Abercrombie style of character development is near perfect for me. I use the Logen's quotes from his father all the time with my kids "Once you've got a task to do, it's better to do it than live with the fear of it."
 
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Kovaks

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Agree I think he and Mark Lawrence are my current top two, and Steven pacy is the best narrator out there. I decided to finally give David Gemmell's Legend a try and I find that there are some similarities to Abercrombie especially in how alot of the book is really driven by conversations.
 
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Campbell1oo4

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Have you guys read his newest books? The Age of Madness trilogy?

Campbell1oo4 said:
I found the first one interesting but the second one kind of lost me. I realized it was just one of the 'King'
plays that Shakespeare wrote. Henry the IV I believe, but imposed over the advent of the Industrial Revolution.
I used to love Joe Abercrombie but I think his stuff has tended towards spectacle, rather than actual substance. He is trying to dazzle the reader with violence and sexual weirdness. I didn't even try the third one. This trilogy feels of a much lesser quality than the first.
Click to expand...
 
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Oblio

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Campbell1oo4 said:
Have you guys read his newest books? The Age of Madness trilogy?
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I really enjoyed that Trilogy. Like I said a few posts ago I have consumed all his books via Audio. Steven Pacey is fantastic and really compliments Abercrombie's work. Wisdom of Crowds was fantastic and it is culturally relevant to what is going on in the world right now/what might end up going on in the world.
 
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L

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Age of Madness was good. I miss the old characters a bit, but he's done a good job keeping the world moving with changes. It'll be interesting to see the new/existing crop of characters move the world forward. Especially with any conflict by the magic users.
 
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Dr.Retarded

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Oblio said:
I really enjoyed that Trilogy. Like I said a few posts ago I have consumed all his books via Audio. Steven Pacey is fantastic and really compliments Abercrombie's work. Wisdom of Crowds was fantastic and it is culturally relevant to what is going on in the world right now/what might end up going on in the world.
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Does it get a little woke? I only read the first of the new trilogy, and that was kind of the direction I felt he was going, trying to blend modern day themes into his fantasy setting. It's just not my cup of tea. I know that word gets overused but it really is the best descriptor for that type of stuff when it's shoe horned in.

And I think I stated it before I just didn't care for any of the new characters whatsoever, whereas the original characters were all at least likable even if flawed. I understand you start to either love or hate them more as the books go on, and I guess maybe that might be the case with these new ones. I'm just debating on burning a couple audible credits to finish the series.

I do agree Pacey really makes his books infinitely better, and such an enjoyable experience.
 
Oblio

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Dr.Retarded Dr.Retarded

I don't want to spoil anything so I will just say the overall direction is not woke, IMHO. I think it is worth it the credits and Audible has a pretty generous return policy.

I agree the new characters aren't as good as the old, but they have their moments. I found myself rooting for and against some of them at different times in the story.
 
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Dr.Retarded

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Oblio said:
Dr.Retarded Dr.Retarded

I don't want to spoil anything so I will just say the overall direction is not woke, IMHO. I think it is worth it the credits and Audible has a pretty generous return policy.

I agree the new characters aren't as good as the old, but they have their moments. I found myself rooting for and against some of them at different times in the story.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll give it a shot.
 
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wormie

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I need a break from these fucking books. Every time a book ends I feel like a pile of shit was dumped on me. Don’t want a Hollywood ending but fuck me. Still have the collection of short stories and the new trilogy to read and will do so after I read some John Gwynne first.
 
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Dr.Retarded

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wormie said:
I need a break from these fucking books. Every time a book ends I feel like a pile of shit was dumped on me. Don’t want a Hollywood ending but fuck me. Still have the collection of short stories and the new trilogy to read and will do so after I read some John Gwynne first.
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Really, how so? Was there a particular book?

I never necessarily felt I needed a break after reading them, but sometimes they didn't end the way I expected them to. I always felt at least I got some sort of closure though by the end of the different novels. Although, I guess I feel kind of ripped off getting nothing with Faro being resolved other than hearsay.
 
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Oblio

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wormie said:
I need a break from these fucking books. Every time a book ends I feel like a pile of shit was dumped on me. Don’t want a Hollywood ending but fuck me. Still have the collection of short stories and the new trilogy to read and will do so after I read some John Gwynne first.
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Shit, don't read the old testament then...
 
wormie

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Dr.Retarded said:
Really, how so? Was there a particular book?

I never necessarily felt I needed a break after reading them, but sometimes they didn't end the way I expected them to. I always felt at least I got some sort of closure though by the end of the different novels. Although, I guess I feel kind of ripped off getting nothing with Faro being resolved other than hearsay.
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I read the first three books then the three stand alone books. There is plenty of closure, its just emotionally heavy shit that is never light and easy to digest afterwards. I said all the endings were shitty and I meant from character perspectives. In none of the books did anyone end up "OK" with a "happy" looking future. Everyone is shitty and gets what they deserve but I was lamenting the fact that these sort of endings feel bad and I always wish for a character to have a prospect of being decent with an ok life but it never happens. Beck (from Heroes) is the only exception to this as he learns a lesson, learns what he is and what he is not, finds where he belongs and goes back.
 
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