What did you just read?

The Mongrel Mage by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. Apparently book fucking 19 in the Saga of Recluse. Not a lot to say about this one; if you've read one Modesitt book, you've quite literally read them all. Still, Modesitt remains an author that for some reason I enjoy reading, in spite of having some *glaring* flaws as a writer, such as his inability to break out of the very well worn narrative rut he's made for himself. I think a big part of it is just that I like the Order and Chaos magic system.

But hey, this book does show some growth in his writing. This time around, the protagonist isn't a mage-who's-also-a-craftsman, or a mage-who's-also-a-soldier. Instead, he's a mage who's a craftsman, who later becomes a soldier. Growth!

Well, the first book is a trilogy. And it is a great great book.
The action in The Heroes is stand-alone somewhat, but there are some characters and scenes that cannot be understood and fully appreciated unless you've read the first trilogy.

I would say The Heroes is the best of all his work, but to clarify there is a "loose" order to the books.

Let me explain. He started with a trilogy The Blade Itself, Before they Are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings.

Then he wrote some stand-alone novels (set in the same world) that explore the mixing of genres. The Heroes is a war novel. Best Served Cold is a revenge story. Red Country is as close to a western as you get without six-shooters. There was a collection of short stories as well, titled Sharp Ends.

Now, how you view each novel depends on who you are as a person. I have read everything except Best Served Cold because I have not been able to find a copy in my city, and I didn't live in a country with amazon until very recently. But I will tell you, the trilogy was not my favorite. I won't explain why.

My favorite was The Heroes followed by Red Country and then bringing up the rear is Sharp Ends. I am tired of trilogies, but prefer self-contained stories. The Heroes and Red Country fulfill that desire, and are well done.

As for the short stories, I needed more of his world, but I can't recommend them as literature. Only if you are a fan-boy.

This post is all over the place, but I don't get the opportunity to talk about Abercrombie's novels very often. Never met another person who has read them.

Zapatta said:

Free on Kindle right now. Musashi is the grand dad of dual wielding, he knows whats up.

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Also one of the world's great pragmatists, and the progenitor of such gems as (paraphrasing), "Always show up late for a duel, because your opponent will be fustrated and make mistakes," and/or "Ambush them on the way to a duel. If they object, they should have been ready."

You don't get to win 60+ fights to the death by giving anything away for free.

Oblio said:

Thanks, decided to play it safe an picked up The Blade Itself.

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Heroes and The First Law Trilogy (Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings) are great but his most fully realized series is his YA series, The Shattered Sea (Half A King, etc).

It's not as overtly gritty as the first law trilogy, and it's set in a different universe (probably ours) but it's undoubtedly his most disciplined and best-conceived work yet.

Oblio said:

is that a recommendation? I kinda recoiled at the YA mention. I will be honest I never heard of Abercrombie until a week ago in this thread.

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Yeah. It's definitely YA---you won't get Bremer barebacking camp whores while fantasizing about courtier's wives, but I wouldn't hesitate saying it's his best-constructed trilogy yet.

You'll forget it's YA after a couple dozen pages.

khorum said:

Yeah. It's definitely YA---you won't get Bremer barebacking camp whores while fantasizing about courtier's wives, but I wouldn't hesitate saying it's his best-constructed trilogy yet.

You'll forget it's YA after a couple dozen pages.

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YA is a pretty wide category these days - 'anything but porn' seems to be the general definition.

Currently reading the Demon Princes serie from Jack Vance.. loved the first two parts, midly enjoyed the 3rd and I have a hard with the last two.

This was a really interesting narrative history of champagne. Pretty great!

Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger

Never read it in school, but I bought it yesterday, and finished it this morning. Holy shit, I loved this book. It was as if someone wrote a book about me when I was a teenager. Would recommend to anyone who was a very angry/confused teenager.