The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Logen Ninefingers is a homeless, battle-scarred barbarian, hoping to live one more day. Jezal dan Luthar is a conceited rake with the vague ambition of winning an annual fencing contest. Sand dan Glokta, who won such a contest years ago, is a torture-crippled torturer in the Union's Inquisition, rooting out whatever truths or half-truths will please his superiors (if not the Union's senile king). Ferro Maljinn is an escaped slave, lean and feral, seeking vengeance against the empire that destroyed her people.

Against the backdrop of the mysterious agenda of the wizard Bayaz and an invasion by a new barbarian king, first-time author Joe Abercrombie slowly weaves together the violent lives of these four to open his First Law trilogy. It's difficult to elaborate further without providing spoilers, but suffice it to say that so much of the story... Read More

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

I haven't been this excited about a book since I read George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones! Speaking of which, be careful stacking Joe Abercrombie too close to GRRM or Steven Erikson, because even though it's less-than-half their size, The Blade Itself may knock them right off the bookshelf!

Finally, a talented writer has combined the straight-forward, character driven adventure tales of old school sword-and-sorcery with the depth and multi-person-point-of-view of the modern epic fantasies.

This world is ruled by a centuries-old empire that's oblivious to its rotting core and too arrogant to realize how easily its barbaric enemies may be more than it can handle. Also, it s... Read More

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

By setting The Blade Itself, the first book of his FIRST LAW series, in a well-built world and filling it with interesting, gritty characters, Joe Abercrombie creates a good balance of stage-setting and story-telling.

The story is told from the perspective of five major characters who are gradually drawn together and whose collected experiences create an engrossing tale. There is the mage, the apprentice, the barbarian, the gifted young noble, the crippled anti-hero... and so forth. Abercrombie writes engaging characters — perfect for my personal tastes. I particularly think that Sand dan Glokta, the Inquisitor, is an amazing character.

The only problem with The Blade Itself was that it takes a while before the story gets going. That's not a serious drawback, but enough that it kept me from wanting to give it m... Read More

The Blade Itself

[Subterranean Press's version has a lovely cover and interior illustrations by Alexander Preuss. You can view those here.]

I started reading Joe Abercrombie's debut novel immediately after finishing a very popular old 1970s classic post-Tolkien fantasy that had left me — quite frankly — bored. I had the flu, my body ached, and I was feeling sorry for myself. But by the end of the first chapter of The Blade Itself, I was feeling much better. First, Mr. Abercrombie's writing was vivid, tense, action-packed, and droll — just the way I like it. Second, I found myself thankful that I was merely bed-ridden with the flu, rather than in the situation that Logen Ninefingers was in.

T... Read More

Before They are Hanged

Before They are Hanged begins just where The Blade Itself left off and continues the stories of Logen, West, Jezal, Ferro, Bayaz, Glokta, and company. Expect more of the same in this novel: brutal fighting, sickening torture, nasty politics, ruthless characters, and barbarian grammar.

This recipe mostly works — the plot is interesting, the pace is fast, there's a bit of humor, and the characters are well-developed and continue to grow. I certainly enjoyed the story. There were a few things, however, that keep me from giving this novel (and the series) "favorite" status.

First, the editing needs a bit more polish. I find it jarring to read sentences which are missing antecedents or punctuation:
"He glanced sideways and caught Luthar's eye, licking his lips nervously in the gloom, wet hair plastered to his face." (I don't know whose l... Read More

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

I just finished The First Law, Book 3: Last Argument of Kings and I can’t remember the last time I read a series this exciting, if ever.

My biggest complaint of modern epic fantasy is that too many series consist of tombstone-sized doorstoppers by authors who don’t have the discipline to complete books in a timely manner or the gahonas to even finish the story. Finally, a trilogy comes along during which I don’t grow older waiting for the next installment and is truly only three books long... Then, I only find myself not wanting it to end.

The Blade Itselfand Before They are Hanged consistently build the momentum of The First Law trilogy with the determined speed of a freight-train unknowingly headed for a washed-out br... Read More

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

Say one thing for Kat Hooper, say she's a weak-minded sucker.

She really enjoyed the first two books of Joe Abercrombie's THE FIRST LAW trilogy. This story was original, had a unique style, fascinating characters, and a darkly cynical style. She liked it. It was fresh. But she was kind of hoping, even daring to expect, that the last book, Last Argument of Kings, might have an ending that was, if not perhaps exactly happy, at least somewhat satisfying.

Unfortunately, Last Argument of Kings was more realistic than happy. Hooray, some might say — a realistic ending! But realistic is not what Kat reads fantasy for. For three books she read about people's heads being chopped off, painful body parts clicking, toothless gums being sucked at, pain, wasting disease, bodies being cleaved in half, more pain, betraya... Read More

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

When the infamous mercenary captain, Monza Murcatto, seems to be getting too powerful, her employer, Duke Orso, attempts to have her and Benna, Monza’s next-in-command, killed. Short work is made of Benna, but, by a cruel twist of fate, Monza survives, just barely. And her quest for vengeance sets a spark to the powder-keg that is the country of Styria during the Years of Blood.

Best Served Cold is a stand-alone novel that takes place in the same world as Joe Abercrombie’s acclaimed The First Law series. To his many fans (of which I’m certainly one), I say: you’ll be more than pleased with Best Served Cold. Along with a colorful array of new characters — criminals, henchmen, assassins, power-hungry nobles, and ... Read More

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

Joe Abercrombie is the new master of dark, gritty, realistic fantasy, and Best Served Cold might well be the masterpiece that represents that subgenre. Monza Murcatto is a renowned and very successful mercenary … or was until she was stabbed, beaten, and thrown from a mountainside by her employer. Monza wants revenge, so she contracts a party of unsavory characters to aid her. Monza’s story goes from dark to black to “a wet match in the bottom of a dark cave” — everyone suffers, lots of people die, and the trail of blood and tragedy that Monza leaves in her wake is unprecedented.

Abercrombie takes what appears to be a simple tale of revenge and twists it into a sanguine journey of self-discovery on the part of each character. The heart of Best Served Cold is how Abercrombie strips our... Read More

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

"Mercenaries are people, too."

I won’t tell you about the plot of Best Served Cold since that’s been well done by Greg and Justin. Instead, I’ll tell you about the audiobook and how I liked the story.

I listened to Tantor Media’s audio version which was read by the excellent Michael Page. This was a great format except for one chapter (“To the Victors…”) in which Mr. Abercrombie meant for us to be surprised by who the principal actors were. In the text, section breaks indicate scene (and therefore character) changes. The audiobook reader, however, used the voices for the characters that Mr. Abercrombie meant for us to think were involved. When the trick was revealed, Mr. Page switched voices. This was confusing, especially since a listener can’t see the section breaks and realize that the scene kept changing. I had to go back and ... Read More

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

A few years ago, I discovered a completely new — to me — subgenre of fantasy. It is bloody, full of battles with swords and maces, always placed in a medieval setting, and very nearly devoid of magic. Its practitioners are the likes of Richard K. Morgan and Matthew Stover — and Joe Abercrombie, in the dark, brutal and compelling Best Served Cold. I’m still not quite sure that I like this type of book; though it is certainly exciting, it is also troubling. Perhaps that is precisely the intent of the authors’ writing about a very visceral and immediate type of battle, one far removed from the surgical precision of computer-guided missiles floating through the door of a house... Read More

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

The Heroes is another story set in the same world as Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy. Veteran readers will be happy to be reacquainted with several characters from earlier books: the wizard Bayaz; the dishonored warrior Bremer dan Gorst; Finree dan Brock, Union Commander Marshal Kroy’s ambitious daughter; Black Dow, the ruthless leader of the Northmen. But if you haven’t read any of Abercrombie’s books yet, don’t worry — you don’t need to have read them in order to fully enjoy The Heroes.

If you have read the earlier books, you’ll recall that a conflict, provoked by the manipulations of two rival magical forces, has been brewing between the Union and the barbaric Northmen who are probably best compared to the historical Vikings. When The Heroes opens, the Union is staging forces to fight. At ... Read More

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

The war between the Union and the North culminates in a three-day battle among two small villages, bogs, and barley fields. The high ground is a saddled hilltop ringed by ancient standing stones called the Heroes. The ruthless fighting prowess of Black Dow, the new king of the North, is pitted against Lord Marshal Kroy, the commander of the southern King’s army. The Heroes reads more like historical fiction than fantasy. In true Joe Abercrombie fashion, it’s a grim tale told by an array of intensely colorful and intriguing characters.

Joe Abercrombie is to fantasy books what Clint Eastwood was to Western movies; he’s taken the genre to a whole new level of badass.

From beginning to end, reading about medieval warfare cannot get any more real than it is in The Heroes. This book is sure to give readers the instinct... Read More

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

I often struggle when someone asks me what my favorite fantasy book is. I’ve read so many great books that it’s very difficult to pick one above all the others. I don’t have that problem anymore. My answer now is easily Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes. I cannot think of another book I have enjoyed so much on so many levels. That’s a bold statement, you say? Yes it is. This book deserves it, and I will do my best to try and explain why.

The overall plot of The Heroes is relatively simple. It follows a battle over the course of three days. The battle is being fought between “The Union” and “The North.” The Union is an entity that has much in common with medieval England. The North has much in common with Vikings or some other barbarian state. They’ve been brought together in war through a series of convoluted events th... Read More

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes is not named for its characters. Instead, “The Heroes” are a circle of stones at the top of a hill. Warriors were presumably buried beneath these stones long ago, and there will certainly be a high number of bodies to bury by the novel’s conclusion.

Yes, The Heroes is a fantasy novel about the soldiers caught in the middle of a war between the armies of the North and the armies of the Union. Readers are treated to scheming politics, petulant and pompous generals, and hard-working soldiers struggling to survive the next battle. There is no overarching purpose or justification to the war or to either side beyond power, so don’t look for good or evil. Look for gore.

The Heroes is a hard-boiled fantasy that fans of Read More

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie 

As a fan of Joe Abercrombie’s other books, such as The Heroes, Red Country was a must-read for me. Even though I had no idea what Red Country was about, or how it might be related to his previous stories, it didn’t really matter because I was certain that Joe Abercrombie would entertain me.

Red Country feels almost like a Western in the way that the towns are laid out — there’s a quasi general store and a the local saloon, for example — and I was starting to wonder if Abercrombie was breaking away from his usual setting. But the conditions, as in all of Abercrombie’s other stories, are pretty rough, and so very realistic. Red Country has a good setting for the type of hard story that Abercrombie writes.

Shy Sou... Read More

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

Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword & Sorcery is a book I’ve been eagerly anticipating ever since it was first announced in 2009. I was particularly excited about the anthology’s impressive list of contributors which includes several authors I enjoy reading like Glen Cook, Greg Keyes, Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, Garth Nix, Tim Lebbon, Read More

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

Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery is an excellent new anthology of original short fantasy fiction, featuring an impressive mixture of established genre masters and newer, highly talented authors. The book’s introduction, by editors Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan, does an excellent job defining the sword & sorcery sub-genre and placing it in its historical context. This is an interesting read for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the genre and doesn’t have a copy of John Clute and John Grant’s The Encyclopedia of Fantasy handy, but the main... Read More

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

As the title suggests, Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders have gathered seventeen new and original sword & sorcery tales in this anthology. The stories are written by a variety of successful authors, bringing to play a broad range of styles and themes. I’m a huge fan of sword & sorcery (it’s what got me into fantasy). So I was extremely eager to get my hands on this book.

I did find Swords and Dark Magic to be heavier on the “sorcery” than the “sword,” more so than is my preference. (Like the greatest S&S hero, Conan the Cimmerian, I subscribe to the belief that when the gods breathed life into mankind, we were gi... Read More

Today I’d like to welcome Joe Abercrombie to Fantasy Literature. Joe is the author of The First Law Trilogy (The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged, and The Last Argument of Kings) and the stand alone work Read More