Review: Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

What is YA fiction?

I ask because Half a King is Joe Abercrombie’s first foray into YA fiction (and the first book in the Shattered Sea series). Fans, or at least those familiar with Abercrombie’s fiction, may have a reaction along the lines of ‘what!?, ‘Really?!’, ‘No Fucking Way!’

Abercrombie has a bit of a reputation in the SFF world. His fiction is … messy. It certainly falls into the relatively newly coined term grimdark (which, for the record, I dislike as a sub-genre describer but I’m afraid it’s here to stay). Some would throw about the term ‘realistic’ to describe what Abercrombie does with fantasy, regardless of how silly the term realistic can be when describing fiction, and fantasy in particular, but I digress. What Abercrombie does do is explore the fantasy genre by destroying some of its core concepts – The First Law Trilogy turns epic fantasy on its head, stretches it out on the rack and slowly eviscerates it. Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country all similarly subvert the revenge, war/hero, and western narratives, respectively. And they are messy. The single unifying concept (beyond grunting dialog) is that nothing is romanticized.  War is hell, killing is necessary, and blood gets everywhere. People are flawed, scarred, and any ideals they hold to are crushed in creative forms of torture. Redemption is not something that is oft found in the Abercrombie tale.

So, I come back to my opening question, what is YA? Does YA feature a simple narrative, clean reality full of romanticized characters and beautiful ideals? Are triumph, redemption and similar ‘good’ outcomes needed? If you tend to jump to a ‘yes’ answer for any of the above questions, I’d suggest that you haven’t read much YA fiction, or at least much good YA fiction.

So, I ask, is it really a surprise that Joe Abercrombie, LordGrimdark himself, is writing YA fiction?

Just what does YA Abercrombie-style look like? Is there a boy? Yes. Is there a girl? A couple actually. Is there a classic mentor figure? Yes, maybe more than one depending on how one looks at it. Is there a struggle and ‘heroes’ journey to become oneself and achieve their goals? Yes. Do the good guys win? … Does the boy get the girl? … Is there a cute and tidy moralistic message to be learned? Umm… Abercrombie wrote this, OK? Is there a death that is important to the protagonists development? See previous answer. Is mommy proud of her crippled son? … Just what is being subverted here? …

Half a King is a wonderful example of good YA fiction – note, that it’s not ‘children’s fiction’ as some people tend to falsely equate with YA. In many ways, this book is just as dark (err…grimdark?) anything else that Abercrombie has written. Blood is splattered all over the place. Betrayal occurs…repeat. The person that our ‘hero’ grows into … well, I’ll let you decide.

To answer the question I began with, YA fiction (at least as I choose to define it) simply features a protagonist who falls into the YA age category. It may be shorter than other novels and a bit easier to read (both are true in the case of Half a King), though those aren’t necessary. It’s a book that is probably marketed to the YA audience, which may be the only real definition for YA that matters. But who looks back on their ‘YA’ years and thinks those were the best times of my life? Teenagers are brutal. They are impulsive, short-sighted, vain and cruel. Sure, there are more than a few positive attributes as well, but don’t forget that the ‘YA years’ are not the easy sailing, Disney years that so many wish them to be. Abercrombie (and grimdark) fit right in … or maybe not, because who actually fits in during those years?

So, yes, Half a King is awesome. It is YA and it will equally appeal to those beyond their YA years. This is probably Abercrombie’s best book to-date (I waffle because I’ve not yet read Red Country), and shows that he’s writing with a golden finger (of death).

And nothing is better than naming a character Nothing. Nothing.

Abercrombie wrote Half a King, and this is a whole review that talked for a bit about Nothing.*

Half a King (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

The First Law Trilogy (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Best Served Cold (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

The Heroes (my review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

Red Country (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon)

*This line doesn’t really make much sense in the context of this review, but after reading the book I had to write it. Once you read the book you will understand. Or not … my sense of humor is odd.

A Red Country by Joe Abercrombe - Update and Synopsis

Over the past few years, one of my favorite authors in the SFF world has been Joe Abercrombie. He has a new book coming out, probably this fall, called A Red Country (Book Depository, Powell's Books, Indiebound) and he's just given us a bit of synopsis for it.

“Shy South comes home to her farm to find a blackened shell, her brother and sister stolen, and knows she’ll have to go back to bad old ways if she’s ever to see them again.  She sets off in pursuit with only her cowardly old step-father Lamb for company.  But it turns out he’s hiding a bloody past of his own.  None bloodier.  Their journey will take them across the lawless plains, to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feuds, duels, and massacres, high into unmapped mountains to a reckoning with ancient enemies, and force them into alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, a man no one should ever have to trust…”

Now, I've really been looking forward to his take on a fantasy western, with a vision of Quentin Terantino meeting Sergio Leon. However, this synopsis has a tidbit that makes me even more excited - Nicomo Cosca. This is probably my favorite Abercrombie character, and IMHO, it was Cosca that saved Best Served Cold (review) from being an unreadabley bleak book.

I can't wait!

Joe Abercrombie Interviews George RR Martin

You've probably seen it elsewhere, but since I'm a big fan of both authors, I'm putting on my blog too. Joe's interview with George is excellent. And I can say that I've met George before and had conversations - and he is just as approachable as he seems in this interview.

Joe Abercrombie Interview

Pat of the Pat's Fantasy Hotlist and I teamed up for an interview with Joe Abercrombie. Go read it - it's quite good.

Review: The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

In a few short years Joe Abercrombie has risen to be one of the hottest young authors writing in fantasy today, and deservedly so. In The First Law Trilogy Abercrombie takes on the standard epic fantasy trilogy – only he turns it upside down, inside out, slits its throat and yells FU. In Best Served Cold (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) he writes the fantasy version of a revenge novel, only bloodier, darker and more disturbing. In his latest novel, The Heroes (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), Abercrombie attacks the war novel while he slowly hangs, draws and quarters a traditional idea of heroism.

The Heroes focuses in a way that few fantasy novels do – essentially, the novel takes place over only three days at a single battlefield. The back and forth seizure of high ground, the taking and re-taking of key river crossings, cavalry charges, ambushes and all that abound. Yet as typical with Abercrombie’s writing, the way that the characters themselves view it says it all. From the young recruit eager to gain a name and become a heroic legend like his father to the wizened old soldier who wants nothing more to get away from it all to the ambitious daughter of a general seeking to increase the influence of her dishonored husband, to the cowardly plotting once prince of the North to the disgraced former guard of the King, Abercrombie shows the horror, futility, irony, and viscera of war.

In other reviews of Abercrombie’s books, I’ve worried about him becoming something of a one-trick pony – sure he may do the one trick really well, but it can be tiresome. Especially when the trick is overwhelming darkness and a total lack of redemption in characters. With The Heroes, I’m happy to see that Abercrombie shows what I’ve always suspected – that he isn’t a one-trick pony, that he skewers one-trick ponies and slowly roasts them. One of the first thoughts I had while reading The Heroes is that it’s good writing, not the standard good storytelling of fantasy writing, but real talent at work where just a few words provide multiple meanings and depth. Now I’m not saying that Abercrombie has become a literary stylist or anything, just that he’s honed his craft and improved his skill as a writer with every book he’s published.

Subversion is one of the favorite catch words in fantasy these days – right behind gritty. Both words find themselves use routinely in reviews of Abercrombie’s work and deservedly so. Forget gritty – for an Abercrombie book it’s kind of like saying the sky is blue. But subversion – this is where Abercrombie’s writing really sets him apart. A key component of so much of the fantasy genre is heroism. And it may be this very key component that makes fantasy so appealing to read – after all, Western society loves the hero. Forgetting entertainment (which could go on forever), think of how quick society is to label someone a hero – be it a war hero, someone who rescues a baby from a burning home, a child battling cancer, etc. Hell, our society is so fascinated by heroes that it came up with the idea of superheroes. In The Heroes, Abercrombie uses a classic war novel in a fantasy setting to explore the idea of heroism. As one would expect, Abercrombie takes a deeply cynical and ironic view of heroism, but never a simplistic one.

One of the issues I have with Best Served Cold is that it is too dark, too cynical, and simply over does the lack of redemption in revenge. The characters were well done, just not likeable enough to truly enjoy the book. In The Heroes Abercrombie rediscovers that balance between levity and cynicism that made The First Law so much fun while it depressingly dismantles the ideal of epic fantasy. The Heroes is dark, it’s gory, it’s futile, yet it’s entertaining – a near-impossible balance to achieve, yet so important for success in a genre dominated by escapist reading.

The Heroes is a mostly stand-alone novel set in the same world as Abercrombie’s other novels. The story is self-contained, yet many of the characters and the background conflict between Bayaz and the Prophet are dealt with in his other books. So, even though the story is stand-alone and could work as an introduction his fiction, a reader does benefit from having read Abercrombie’s other works.

Abercrombie continues to show growth and improvement as an author and The Heroes is stellar example of why he has become so popular in a relatively short time. The Heroes showcases the strengths of Abercrombie’s writing – characterization, dark ironic wit, and not-so-subtle subversion of traditional fantasy ideas. And Abercrombie is never afraid to get dirty, really dirty. 9/10

Related Posts: Review of The Blade Itself, Review of Before They Are Hanged, Review of Last Argument of Kings, Review of The First Law Trilogy, Interview with Joe Abercrombie, Review of Best Served Cold

Review: Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders

Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) collects original stories from authors who were there near the beginning of sword and sorcery and from the new guys and gals, some of whom have earned reputations as the latest and greatest. As a whole the anthology succeeds with its goal: showcase Sword and Sorcery. These stories are fun and entertaining adventures often full of dark humor. They are not, nor should they be, powerful short stories that punch you in the gut and haunt your dreams – well, OK, some of these stories will punch you in the gut and then kick you in the face, spit on your back and maniacally laugh between guzzles of some horrendous, potent beverage, but I think the point comes across that this is much more of collection of entertainment than deeply symbolic stories on the human condition.

As I was reading I actually kept decent notes for once, so I have at least some comment about every story in the anthology – of course these comments reflect my reading experience and don’t really stand in as true reviews and will probably leave you wanting, but they are what they are.

Introduction

Anders and Strahan do a good job with a complete and illuminating run-down of sword and sorcery as a genre. I felt like I learned something, which is as it should be.

"Goats of Glory" - Steven Erikson

This story embraces the idea of Sword and Sorcery a bit more fully than many of the other stories in this anthology. A small group of mysterious soldiers are ambushed by a nest of nasty demons – I’ve said before that Erikson excels in the short form and this is a pretty good example of it. And nobody names characters better.

"Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company" - Glen Cook

This new Black Company story is one of the standouts in the anthology. It’s fun, full of dark humor and makes me want to read more of Cook.

"Bloodsport" - Gene Wolfe

As with much of Wolfe’s fiction, I’m sure I’m missing something, but in the end I found this story to be dull and forgettable.

"The Singing Spear" - James Enge

This short Morlock Ambrosious story rides firmly in the middle of the pack in regards to quality in this anthology, but in combination with his recent World Fantasy Award Nomination, it makes me want to read Enge’s novels.

"A Wizard of Wiscezan" - C.J. Cherryh

“A Wizard of Wiscezan” is one of most complete stories of this anthology. In fact, I’m pretty sure there is a novel to be had.

"A Rich Full Week" - K. J. Parker

This dark tale of the disposal of an unwanted zombie/vampire/dead guy is subtly humorous and well executed.

"A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet" - Garth Nix

At times fun and witty, but ultimately more forgettable than anything.

"Red Pearls: An Elric Story" - Michael Moorcock

As the introduction of this anthology states, no anthology about Sword and Sorcery would be complete without the presence of Michael Moorcok. This new Elric story is probably the best written of the anthology, yet it still feels as if it’s missing something – now if I could only figure exactly what that is.

"The Deification of Dal Bamore" - Tim Lebbon

This tale of misdirection surrounding the execution of a potential martyr stands out as one of the best of the anthology. Set in Echo City, it makes me very curious about Lebbon’s new book, Echo City.

"Dark Times at the Midnight Market" - Robert Silverberg

In this all-new Majipoor tale, Silverberg writes a mildly entertaining story about a down-and-out wizard trying to make a living in hard times.

"The Undefiled" - Greg Keyes

I forgot everything about this story immediately after reading it, and I think that speaks for itself.

"Hew the Tint Master" - Michael Shea  

This story of a barbarian and a house painter on a mission to save the world started out to be the best of the anthology. The writing was clever, fun and unexpected, but the tale grows bigger than a short story, looses focus, and ultimately falls flat.

"In the Stacks" - Scott Lynch

With a lot of fans anxiously awaiting the next Lynch book for several years now, this little short story gained some legs. Lynch’s take on an exam in a sorcery academy is a good reminder of why fans are eagerly awaiting that next book.

"Two Lions, A Witch, and the War-Robe" - Tanith Lee

This tale of two good Samarians who find themselves in a bit of bind is one of the more entertaining of the anthology.

"The Sea Troll's Daughter" - Caitlin R Kiernan

I learned something I didn’t know with this story – I learned that Kiernan is a geologist. Now to most people that probably doesn’t matter, but since I’m also a geologist, I found this very interesting. As a result, Kiernan’s correct use of geology in “The Sea Troll’s Daughter” stood out. The story it a good one too – I’ll be reading more of her work in the future.

"Thieves of Daring" - Bill Willingham

This was another clever and fun adventure in an anthology that seems to save its best for the end.

"The Fool Jobs" - Joe Abercrombie

I thought this one started out slow, but by the end of the story, Abercrombie’s characteristic dark humor and sense of ‘not quite you’re father’s fantasy’ adventure really takes hold, making this one of the strongest stories in the anthology and good story to end with. “The Fool Jobs” has also been selected for inclusion in The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy of the Year: Vol. 5 anthology edited by Strahan (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound).

Swords & Dark Magic succeeds as an anthology, though perhaps not as a great collection of stories. No single story stands out as great, and there are a couple of real duds. However, the stories in Swords & Dark Magic are hugely fun and entertaining and showcase the pulp-ish genre of Sword and Sorcery. 7.5

More of the Same

It’s well known that authors really shouldn’t respond to reviews (or at least do so carefully), Joe Abercrombie has become the exception to this with his often snarky, narcissistic responses. He of course took the bait I hung out there with my review of Best Served Cold and showed me that I should be careful what I wish for.

Otherwise, I’m still slammed – last week was work-related travel, this week I’ve got both work-related and personal travel. I did get a bit of reading time in there, so whenever I can find the time to get my thought together and write, I’ll get up reviews of The Affinity Bridge by George Mann (liked it), Medicine Road by Charles de Lint (really liked it), and The Sheriff of Yrnameer by Michael Rubens (didn’t like it).

So, it’ll continue to be rather quite around here for at least another week and maybe until August.

Edit: Since I'm on the topic (somewhat) of Joe Abercrombie - this review of The First Law Trilogy is probably the strangest review I've ever read - the dude has some serious issues.

Review: Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

A common comparison in reviews goes something like ‘fans of __ will love __’. Related and nearly as common is something like ‘fans of __’s earlier work will love this one’. I’ve seen the argument about the above being lazy and unhelpful reviewing, and I’ve seen numerous pleas for exactly that kind of comparison in reviews. Disregarding that particular discussion, the most appropriate one-line description of Joe Abercrombie’s Best Served Cold (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) is ‘Joe Abercrombie serves up a heaping dish of more of the same with Best Served Cold’.

Monza Murcatto is the most ruthless and successful mercenary in Styria. Depending on what side of the river you stand on, she is either immensely popular or indescribably hated. Dwelling on the former, her employer, the Grand Duke Orso, has Monza and her brother killed in an impressive scene of back-stabbing betrayal. Only Monza manages to survive being beaten, cut, stabbed, and thrown from a mountain top. What remains is the classic vengeance story as she methodically seeks the death of the seven people in the room when her brother was killed with the help of a merry band of dangerous degenerates, both new and familiar.

For fans of Abercrombie’s previous work, The First Law Trilogy (review), Best Served Cold is probably just what they are looking for. Abercrombie’s dark, biting humor imbues everything. Violence is bloody, language harsh, dialogue full of grunts, the sex is cleverly not-so gratuitous, the addictions and perversions shall not be spoken of, and everybody is an evil son-of-a-bitch.

Unlike The First Law Trilogy, Abercrombie doesn’t set out to be blatantly subversive with Best Served Cold. It really is a strait-forward vengeance plot, with surprisingly few twists along the way. With that said, Abercrombie just can’t help but be a little subversive. A scene that sticks with me is one where a female mercenary, female poisoner, and female torturer interrogate a female prisoner – you can feel the testosterone (err…estrogen?) of this not-so uncommon scene reinvented.

The main issue I have with Best Served Cold likely won’t bother most who read the book – Abercrombie doesn’t offer anything new. The First Law Trilogy was a refreshing offering in the often stale genre of epic fantasy. Hoping for an equally refreshing read in Best Served Cold, I found that any novelty remaining quickly wore off. The 640 pages drag on as vengeance is repeatedly sought and achieved – I frequently found myself unmotivated to continue reading. Readers of The First Law will quickly recognize near carbon-copies of characters: Monza is the strong, dangerous woman that Ferro never realized and Shivers nearly a mirror-image of introspective barbarian Logen Ninefingers.

As I hinted at above, Abercrombie’s characterization doesn’t feel so different from The First Law, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Best Served Cold is just as character-driven. At the forefront is the curious dichotomy between Monza and Shivers. Shivers is on a personal journey to become a better man. Monza is the cold-hearted bitch of a mercenary seeking vengeance. Through the book, these two evolve in an unhealthy co-dependency – and if they have sex, watch out! While not the central protagonist, the stage is consistently stolen by the loveable, drunken rogue of a mercenary, Nicomo Cosca, always landing on his feet with flask and sword in hand and caustically cheerful comments to make.

Best Served Cold is a stand-alone book in Abercrombie’s imagined world. However, readers of The First Law will likely appreciate certain plot points more and recognize several recurring characters as it becomes clear that all things in Abercrombie’s world come back to a central feud between powerful enemies, often manipulating events with proxies. While plot is self-contained, Best Served Cold isn’t quite as stand-alone as advertised.

The more-of-same approach of Best Served Cold entertains, yet becomes tedious at times and unfortunately left me wanting more of that special something that I’m convinced Abercrombie can give. 7.5/10

Related Posts: Review of The Blade Itself, Review of Before They Are Hanged, Review of Last Argument of Kings, Review of The First Law Trilogy, Interview with Joe Abercrombie

Review: The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie

Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy presents an alternative interpretation of the relatively standard epic fantasy quest. Abercrombie takes the trope of a guiding, mysterious wizard with a traveling group of people of wide-ranging origins and tweaks the formula, creating a story in which said wizard may actually be a malicious manipulator with self-serving goals and the traveling troupe may not become poster children for an after-school special.

Abercrombie achieves his unique take on epic fantasy by first embracing many of the tropes commonly found. We have a wise, guiding wizard, we have a brutal barbarian from the north, we have a spoiled nobleman, we have a long-lost king, we have a raging war in the north, we see a siege, and a threat that could destroy the world. It’s the way in which he defines and combines these elements that sets The First Law apart.

Abercrombie chooses to emphasize characters in The First Law. The world-building isn’t as grandiose as typical of epic fantasy and while the plot is good, it takes a definite backseat to characterization. Bayaz is the all-knowing wizard and guiding force of The First Law. When first introduced, he does have the jolly, Gandalf-feel of the standard, wizened, fantasy wizard. However, Abercrombie quickly shows that Bayaz is not the copy and paste wizard expected, but someone with a biting sense of humor, a spiteful temper, and a mysterious agenda that may not be all that ‘good’.

Logen Ninefingers (the Bloody-Nine) represents the standard, ‘good-guy’ barbarian – a fierce warrior from the north with a bloody reputation and a tendency towards an insane, bezerker, fighting style. He is also kind, thoughtful, and introspective – that is when he isn’t killing children and long-time companions. It is this slight, but important dichotomy and Abercrombie’s skillful portrayal that makes Logen succeed. The trilogy begins and ends with Logen as Abercrombie shows that in spite of everything that happens along the way, any growth experienced by our characters is arguable.

Inquisitor Glokta is the friendly neighborhood torturer – a once spoiled nobleman, captured and brutally tortured by a ruthless enemy, he provides the reader with a supremely cynical internal dialogue. Glokta lives a life of pain in the middle of deadly, Machiavellian politics, and is entirely aware of the irony that his life has become. Throughout the trilogy Glokta grows and digresses as a character, provides stunning insight and horrible pain through the dark wit that makes him the strongest character to come out of epic fantasy since George R.R. Martin’s Tyrion.

Jezal dan Luthar is the spoiled-rotten noble to balance the scarred torturer of Glokta. Jezal is blissfully ignorant, short-sighted, and an overall idiot. He’s also one of the most skilled swordsmen in the kingdom, an up-and-coming military officer, and quite the ladies man. Through the course of The First Law, it’s arguable that Luthar sees the most change and has his world shaken more than the others, but just how much this matters is up for debate.

There are a whole slew of other supporting characters including love interests, more barbarians from the north, and an actual decent human being. Out of a need for at least some sort form brevity, I’ll not cover them any more than to say that the same philosophy towards their characterization – they are both full of surprises that fly in the face of most epic fantasy and they are exactly as they seem and as they should be.

I’ve concentrated heavily on characterization as I believe it is Abercrombie’s greatest strength in The First Law, but the plot certainly deserves discussion. The plot really isn’t all that complicated and as with the characterization, the plot first embraces convention before turning an ugly mirror to it. In this, it is subversively clever. Epic quests turn out with unexpected results and the ultimate conclusion to the trilogy is so unsatisfying that it distinguishes itself as one of the best ends to a fantasy series that I can think of. The way that Abercrombie presents this is equally stunning – I can almost see him flipping the bird to epic fantasy.

The glue that holds all the above together is Abercrombie’s tone of seething, dark, sardonic wit. Most fully embraced in characters like Glokta and Bayaz, it is the satirical feel to this dark humor that binds it all together. The language is dirty, vivid, and perfect for the goal of subverting the traditional epic quest. Two examples still stand out above the rest. There is a moment in the first book, The Blade Itself, when Logen, Bayaz and an apprentice enter a costume shop because they need to purchase clothes that are more suiting to their positions – apparently the wizard needed to be more wizard-like and Logen more barbarian-like. Stereotypes are wonderful thing in Abercrombie’s world. Another moment comes in the final book, Last Argument of Kings, in an off-hand comment.

“I’ve been trying to get through this damn book again”…

“The Fall of the Master Maker”…”That rubbish? All magic and valor, no? I couldn’t get through the first one.”

“I sympathize. I’m onto the third and it doesn’t get any easier. Too many damn wizards. I get them mixed up one with another. It’s all battles and endless bloody journeys, here to there and back again. If I so much as glimpse another map I swear I’ll kill myself.”

This single exchange may best sum up Abercrombie’s thoughts on epic fantasy and show what The First Law is answering to. Of course it’s tinged with sarcastic humor and I can’t help but chuckle knowing that Abercrombie’s forthcoming book set in the same world, Best Served Cold (

US, UK, Canada, Indiebound), does have a map, unlike books of The First Law.

While my discussion has been overtly positive to this point, The First Law isn’t a series for everyone. Abercrombie’s unique writing style can be grating, especially as its novelty wears thin. The dialogue is loaded with grunts and other fragments that will drive some readers bonkers. The story won’t appeal to all and some people will be left thinking ‘I just don’t see why people speak so highly of this series’. Of course, it’s the same for everything, and can be summed up by saying that Abercrombie’s writing isn’t for everyone, though it certainly resonates with me.

The First Law Trilogy begins with The Blade Itself (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound, my review), follows with Before They Are Hanged (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound, my review), and concludes with Last Argument of Kings (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound, my review). This series stands apart of the vast majority of epic fantasy available – while embracing cliché, the tropes are of the epic quest are thoroughly subverted with a dark, satiric wit and clever vision. I highly recommend this series for fans of epic fantasy, particularly those who have subversive tendencies. 9/10

Related Posts: Review of The Blade Itself, Review of Before They Are Hanged, Review of Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie Answers Questions Five, Review of Best Served Cold, Review of The Heroes

David Gemmell Legend Award Shortlist – Vote Now!

The David Gemmell Legend Award shortlist (determined by popular vote) was announced earlier this week and the poll is open for voting – so go vote.

I’ve read and reviewed 3 of the 5 books on the shortlist and I’ve read an earlier book by one of the remaining authors.

• Brent Weeks: The Way of Shadows (review)

• Joe Abercrombie: Last Argument of Kings (review)

• Brandon Sanderson: Hero of Ages (review)

• Juliet Marillier: Heir to the Sevenwaters (I haven’t read her before, but Mrs. Neth Space enjoyed her earlier trilogy)

• Andrzej Sapkowski: Blood of Elves (I enjoyed The Last Wish)

For me the vote was down to Sanderson and Abercrombie, and going by reviews alone, Sanderson should be my choice. But I voted for Abercrombie anyway. Why? Because I like his the FU quality of First Law Trilogy and its ending and I look forward to reading Joe’s reaction to winning. However, I do expect there is a strong possibility of a Polish revolution giving the win to Sapkowski.

Review: Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

Last Argument of Kings (US, UK, Canada) is the closing argument of Joe Abercrombie’s answer to epic fantasy. Abercrombie embraces the cliché of fantasy, spins it around, turns it upside down, and covers it stinky, dark, sardonic wit – and then he surprised you. Not everyone believes he succeeds in these goals – often complaining that he still falls into same old traps – but I applaud his effort and the satiric success of it. In the Last Argument of Kings Abercrombie offers up more of the same from the previous two books and then adds some more with an ending that is simply brilliant.

Since Last Argument of Kings is the third book in a trilogy, I’ll be light on the plot summary. The epic quest of Book 2, Before They Are Hanged (US, Uk, Canada), is complete and our adventures have returned. The war in the north continues, yet does come to an end while the central city of Adua becomes embroiled in issues regarding succession of the monarchy and a threat of invasion. Interesting and surprising things await the characters we’ve come to love (or hate) through the series.

The most enjoyable aspect of The First Law trilogy is the way that Abercrombie plays with the tropes of epic fantasy – he fully embraces them while adding a satiric bite and unexpected outcomes. In my review of Before They Are Hanged I mentioned that this had lost the novelty of The Blade Itself – but I must say that Abercrombie rounds things out wonderfully in Last Argument of Kings. As the trilogy ends, the reader is finally let in on a bit of what’s been going on behind the scenes – and the end is decidedly not typical for epic fantasy. For experienced readers of the genre – basically, people who are in on the joke – the end will likely be something of a breath of fresh air. I imagine those that aren’t in on the joke (or don’t find it all that amusing) will simply think it stinks – or at least that it is not particularly satisfying in the way that people generally want things to end. I found it inspired as the mixed emotions rebelled against one another.

Characterization remains a strong point – Inquisitor Glokta may be my favorite character in epic fantasy at the moment. The sardonic wit of his external and internal dialogue is priceless, while I can’t help but like this almost entirely unlikable person. Logen reveals his dark side and the Bloody Nine, Jezal grows as a character as he falls back to his roots, and that bastard Bayaz…. I was also pleased to find out that Abercrombie has indeed been keeping Ardee around for a reason – though her character is a little too witty and unconvincing.

Series come to an end – and I’ve said before how it’s often a bitter-sweet kind of moment. With the Last Argument of Kings, Abercrombie seems to have poured on the bitter – which makes it all the more sweet. Abercrombie hasn’t been writing the standard epic fantasy trilogy – and the proof is in the ending. This series has overwhelmed many and under-whelmed more than few – but it something that fans of epic fantasy simply must read for themselves. 8.5/10

Related Posts: Review of The Blade Itself, Review of Before They Are Hanged, Interview with Joe Abercrombie, Review of The First Law Trilogy, Review of Best Served Cold

But Where Are They?

While I was looking over other blogger reviews of Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie in preparation for writing my review I noticed that several that literally plead (if not threaten) for maps. Then this discussion pops up over at Westeros and there is this blog post where Joe Abercrombie discusses his feelings on maps.

There is a long tradition of accompaniment maps in fantasy novels, and as a whole, I have to admit to a love of those maps. Now, I’m a geologist by trade and a very visual-spatial person, so this is no surprise. Before I could even read words, a book of maps could keep me occupied for hours and little has changed in the decades since. So, while I love maps, I feel that no fantasy book needs them – and if one does, that book is fundamentally flawed.

I’ll happily admit to flipping often to maps of continents, countries, and cities when reading the likes of Tolkien, Jordan, Martin and Erikson. I’ll also admit to craving a map when reading someone like Pratchett (whose take on maps I fully support) and to finding maps both useless and pointless (see Scott Lynch’s books). But, I have to say, particularly in the case of Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law trilogy, readers who are demanding a map, seem to be missing the point.

As Joe indicates in his discussion of maps, they can be distracting and take away from the direction the reader should be looking in. It doesn’t matter where they are – Logen Ninefingers doesn’t have map – the point is who they are and what they are doing. Abercrombie’s efforts are to focus on the characters – not the big picture. Rather than taking the larger, world-view, he is intent on showing a few people caught up in it all. To be worrying about where the characters are physically located in relation to each other and the rest of the world is really missing the point.

I’ll continue to love maps and I’ll continue to love books with and without maps. I’ll loathe the first book I read that depends on its map and I’d happily enjoy an Abercrombie book with a map. But let’s not loose the focus – a map is just an extra that may actually be a hindrance – it’s the words that matter.

Now, what are your thoughts on maps?

Review: Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

Building on his acclaimed debut, Joe Abercrombie’s sophomore effort, Before They Are Hanged, continues The First Law trilogy. Abercrombie utilizes the same tricks of The Blade Itself (review) by dancing a fine line between sticking to genre conventions and sticking it to genre clichés.

Before They Are Hanged follows the three primary story arcs that emerge from The Blade Itself. Inquisitor Glokta manages the siege of Dagoska and beyond through his sardonic internal dialogue. Colonel West and a small band of Northman struggle to survive the escalating war in the north. First Magi Bayaz leads his motley crew to the end of the world in search of a power to repel the rising menace of his age-old rival and the eaters of flesh that follow him.

As I indicated above, Abercrombie gives us more of the same with Before They Are Hanged – if you enjoyed The Blade Itself, then chances are high that you’ll enjoy Before They Are Hanged, if you didn’t enjoy The Blade Itself…well, you get the picture. I loved The Blade Itself and the often subtle (and often not) ways that Abercrombie plays with common fantasy tropes (all-knowing wizard, barbarian from the north, stuck-up nobleman, etc.) – he uses many of them, yet does so with a biting, satirical edge and seems to revel in taking the story in unexpected directions. Before They Are Hanged does all this (and more), but since this is the second book of the trilogy, the novelty of the approach has worn off. With the novelty gone, things almost become tiresome in places.

Characterization is where Abercrombie gets the loudest praise and deservedly so. We follow each of the story arcs through multiple points of view that give real insight into characters who feel authentic. Logen Ninefingers, the infamous barbarian from the north, expresses a soft side at odds with his appearance. Then in the next scene we see him in an insane, berserker rage, overtopping even the most stereotypical of northern barbarians. Glokta, the crippled torturer with internal dialogue to challenge Tyrion’s gold-standard of fantasy characters, actually grows a small heart that shows character growth both fitting and unexpected. These are but two of the best examples of Abercrombie’s gift with characters. Of course he can’t get it right all the time – Colonel West still seems unrealized and unconvincing in spite of Abercrombie’s effort to the contrary and I really hope that he has kept Ardee around for some reason, because I’m not buying it so far.

Plot is where Abercrombie usually earns his dings, and I have to agree again. We have a siege, a war in the north, and quest across a decayed empire. These plots are about as plain as I’ve described them (though events in the quest almost make up for the shortcomings). Without Abercrombie’s superior characterization and sardonic wit the plot would drag these books into obscurity instead of serving an adequate vehicle for what he’s really about.

The First Law trilogy is a single story told in three parts. Therefore it’s a bit unfair to attempt to judge Before They Are Hanged as a single book, rather than the middle section of a single story. I haven’t read Last Argument of Kings yet, but my impression at the moment is that Before They Are Hanged suffers a bit from the middle book syndrome. Still, the book is enjoyable and Abercrombie makes another assertion that he is an author to take notice of with Last Argument of Kings topping my list of anticipated reads. 7-7.5/10

Related Posts: The Blade Itself review, Review of Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie Answers Questions Five, Review of The First Law Trilogy, Review of Best Served Cold

My Name in Actual Print (sort of)

So, apparently a comment I made in a book discussion over at the SFX Magazine Forums made into an article that Joe Abercrombie wrote about George RR Martin’s A Game of Thrones for SFX Magazine. Of course it’s my SN that gets the credit – kcf – so my name isn’t actually in print (I guess I’m not legit yet). Since it’s an actual print magazine and I don’t subscribe, I have to trust others that I said:

"Wolves, kids, incest, politics, secrets, midgets, betrayal, kings and queens, stark landscapes, past wrongs, feudal misgivings, secret keeper, rotten heirs, cold, noble knight, naive hand, vague threats from the north, dragon mother, bastard child...oh, did he just die?"

Of course I made this comment very specifically in the hopes that it would make it into the print version (shameless, I know). Anyway, I thought it was pretty sweet.

Reap the Boredom

Near complete boredom combined with an inability to become motivated to do the actual work I should be at the moment have lead me the writing of this post that does little on its own, instead pointing to interesting discussion elsewhere.

The discussion of interest is this one over at Westeros where a question to simply rank 5 of the newer and more talked about (at least in certain circles) authors in epic fantasy. The authors under the gun are Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss, Daniel Abraham, and Brian Ruckley.

I find this fascinating both because I have read and enjoyed 4 of the 5 authors (and interviewed 3 of the 5) and by the omission of (insert the author you feel should have been included) along side the demographic similarity of the 5.

I’m usually pretty bad with ranking pretty much anything, but in this case, there is a natural rank as I’ve felt about the books I’ve read from these authors.

1. Joe Abercrombie (my review)
   
2. Patrick Rothfuss (my review)
   
3. Scott Lynch (my review)
   
4. Brian Ruckley (my review)

I haven’t read anything by Daniel Abraham yet, but I do have a book on The Stack that I hope to get to in the next couple of months.

In my boredom, I decided to graph the results of the discussion so far (yes, I’m that bored and that geeky). When an author got ranked #1, I gave him 5 pts, #2 got 4, #3 got 3, #4 got 2, and 5 got 1. If someone hadn’t read the author no points were awarded, but it is noted. There were roughly 43 votes as I’m writing this and curiously all had read Abercrombie and Lynch, about a quarter had not read Rothfuss or Ruckley, and about a third haven’t read Abraham. The graph is below.

To give some perspective, if all 16 people who haven’t yet read Abraham gave him a 5, his score would jump to 145 – which is still about 13 points less than Abercrombie (though there would be a corresponding drop of 1 point in Abercrombie’s score for this to be the case, so it would put Abraham on top by 3 points). I mention this to give a bit of an idea of just how far out front Abercrombie is in this little discussion.

Another interesting aspect is the count of #1 votes - Abercrombie received 29 votes for number 1, which blew away everyone else. Lynch received 10 and Abraham 5. Neither Rothfuss nor Ruckley had a single number 1 vote in this informal pole/discussion.

I can’t wait to see what this does to Joe’s ego :D.

Joe Abercrombie Answers Questions Five

Joe Abercrombie is the author of The Blade Itself (my review), the first book in a new epic fantasy trilogy that has been garnering a bit of attention lately. It’s been out in the UK for some time, but was released last month in the US by Pyr. The second book, Before They are Hanged is out in the UK and will be available in the US around March, 2008 and rumor has it that advanced proofs of the final book in the trilogy, Last Argument of Kings, have been sighted. Joe was born in Lancaster, England and currently resides in London

I’m very pleased that Joe has taken to the time to answer Questions Five.


If I were going on holiday to London and I can only visit one pub, which pub do you recommend and why?

JA: You could try the Phoenix Artist’s Bar off Shaftsbury Avenue, where a glittering array of genre writers are often to be found arguing with their editors over that most eternal of literary questions – whose round it is. It has the added advantage of being right next to several of the UKs biggest bookstores. Once you are drunk enough, I therefore recommend you stumble outside and buy any and all copies of my books that you can find. The dizzy rush of excitement you’ll experience will be far superior to anything you can get in a pub.

Honest.


So, which is preferable, reading The Blade Itself or visiting a dentist? Why?

JA: The Blade Itself will not give you a whiter smile. The Blade itself will not leave you with a minty fresh sensation on the tongue. The Blade Itself will not alleviate dental pain. Indeed, with its many scenes of mouth-based torture it may have the opposite effect. It will, however, I am reasonably sure, be cheaper than a visit to the dentist. In that respect, it is a winner.


Please describe one reason The Blade Itself would inspire a reader to strip naked and run screaming into the forest?

JA: Ah, interesting that you should ask. The Blade Itself contains a number of scenes set in forests and, yes, several of these involve moving faster than walking pace at various levels of undress. The very first line, in fact, has someone ‘plunging through the trees, bare feet slipping and sliding’. The book furthermore contains a great deal of screaming, yelling, wailing, blubbering etc. It also includes at least one instance of a stark naked wizard.

The possible effects on impressionable readers of these elements?

You do the math.


What other peculiar qualities of The Blade Itself should readers be aware of?

JA: It isn’t immediately clear from pictures on the internet (and I’m talking about pictures of the book, here), but potential readers should be aware that both the US and UK editions of The Blade Itself are covered in a sumptuously textured paper that puts one in mind of aged parchment, that caresses the fingertips and invigorates mind and body. Many criticisms have been leveled at my writing, but no-one has ever said that my books are not Grip-Friendly.


Why should The Blade Itself be the next book that everyone reads?

JA: Because I need a massive house.