Joe Abercrombie: Last Argument of Kings

Hi

Last Argument of Kings is the third book in The First Law by Joe Abercrombie.
My copy has 670 pages and I got it from Bol.
You can find all my The First Law reviews here.

                                *   SPOILERS   *

The book reads rather slow but is very, very absorbing. It’s fast paced, dark, powerful, complex, and different enough from other Fantasy books I’ve read so far to be interesting.
Abercrombie is a very accomplished storyteller. The writing is sharp, witty, to the point and easy to read. The dialogue isn’t amazing but it’s good. And it’s funnier than you’d think if you like irony.

I still don’t like Ferro’s character. She has served her purpose in this book and gone insane. She hasn’t grown, there’s still only one thing on her mind and she kind off peters out. Very unsatisfying.
Logen surprised me and I loved that. We always knew he isn’t a nice guy but he might be the one who started the war by pushing Bethod so far. This raises the question if Bethod ever was as bad as we (along with every character) were led to believe.
And Bayaz! Who saw that one coming at the start of the first book? I did by the third one but not when I started the series. I truly wanted him dead, and preferably I’d do it myself. Everything he does has only one reason; to benefit himself. His mask has come off.
Abercrombie actually managed to make me care for Jezal because of his treatment by Bayaz. I felt so sorry for him. He has realized the good he can do and he’s not allowed to.

In the end, the different, seemingly unrelated storylines come together in a truly, epic finale. I absolutely loved this huge battle scene and its repercussions.
It’s not a happy end for most of them. West dies (that hurt), Bayaz betrayed every one of them, Logen is back where he started, Ferro has no idea what she should be doing and Jezal is a puppet king.
Few of them got what they wanted or deserved, whether it be good or bad but I loved the ending Glokta got. He is my favorite character. The Jezal-Ardee-Glokta thing made me smile quite a few times.

The ending was too vague though. I would have liked more questions answered instead of raised. Abercrombie clearly wants to write more books about these characters or set in this world.

The book has got it all. There’s compassion, betrayal, lots of violence and torture, jealousy, unrequited love, madness, rage, loyalty, manipulation (lots of manipulation) and surprise.
Last Argument of Kings is a very dark, gritty and bitter book.

Highly recommended series! It has a few faults, but those aside I really enjoyed reading the books.

4 STARS

Happy reading!
Helena

Joe Abercrombie: Before They are Hanged

Hi

Before They are Hanged is the second book in The First Law by Joe Abercrombie.
I got my copy from Bol and it has 570 pages.
You can find all my Joe Abercrombie reviews here.

                                *  SPOILERS  *

I gushed about the great, twisted, unique characters in my review of the previous book and Abercrombie did even better in this book.
Ardee has even less importance here but Ferro gets more time. She’s still bent on revenge but there’s a bit more to her now. Not much, but I can understand her better so I don’t care as much as I used to.
The characters are three dimensional and wonderfully done. Most of them are pretty realistic and I love that.

The plot is better. I loved all the battles, the gore and the blood in the novel. There’s political intrigue, humour, lots of suspenseful and thrilling moments, plottwists, and many questions (some answered and some not), leading to a lot of suspicions.

And finally; the worldbuilding is better too. We see more of the land, we get more background and history.

I'll be reading the third book in the series very soon.

4 STARS

Happy reading!
Helena

Both will be finished tonight. ^^

Joe Abercrombie: The Blade Itself

Hi

The Blade Itself is the first book in The First Law by Joe Abercrombie.

My beautiful copy has 515 pages and I got it from Bol.

 “Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian – leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.
Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.
Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glotka a whole lot more difficult.
Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.”

                                *  SPOILERS  *

The Blade Itself was a great read.

Abercrombie’s characters grew fast on me.
Most of them weren’t in the least likeable but I did enjoy reading about them.
The characters are well developed and they all have their own distinct voice. I liked that a lot.
Reading about another character through someone eyes can be very interesting and entertaining. Because they are all so different they don’t understand the other characters like we do (because we see through everyone's eyes). That makes for quite a few funny situations, thoughts, events and conversations.
The characters quite are different from the typical, Fantasy stereotypes too. Take Logen for example. He seems to be the quintessential hero. He used to be a true barbarian but he’s had enough; he has seen what it does to a man (a lot) and where it brings him (nowhere).
I truly hated Ferro though. She is such a cliché ex-slave-turned-vengeful-fighter it’s hard to grasp that she’s there between those other great characters. Women in general aren’t Abercrombie’s forte. There are only two women in the whole book. Both are victims of abuse, both have no real purpose but to make things difficult for men by flirting, getting drunk, doing what they want or being a vengeful bitch. Really Abercrombie? Not one woman with some measure of true depth in the whole book?

The plot is slow and there’s not much to it; but what did happen was great and very nicely written.
Life is hard and cruel, but the novel is never really gritty or bleak.

Worldbuilding was a bit lacking so I hope that gets better.

There’s not much depth to the novel but it was very enjoyable and entertaining to read. It’s light, easy to follow, full of action and humor. The fights are great and most characters are interesting and different enough to make this worth your time.

4 STARS

Happy reading!
Helena