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Yeah, Abercrombie's is probably the best Fantasy I've ever read. Yet to start "Best Served Cold", but TFL was just an absolute loving riot. Everything about that trilogy and how everything fell apart/came together so perfectly was just excellent. And after all this bullshit ASOIAF/Malazan high fantasy crap with the names and everyone talking like they're scripted it's just so refreshing to hear Logen trip over a wall, squawk, and bugger his ankle up in between his time as The Bloody Nine. Bloody Nine vs Fenris, best fight scene in anything ever?
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Apr 20, 2010 21:51
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Last Argument of Kings spoilers: West had to die, from the moment he beat the poo poo out of his sister. Pushing Ladisla off a cliff just kinda sealed the deal, the man was just too angry to live. It was pretty fitting that he was eaten away from the inside by a wasting illness, even. I had thought, the diamond in the blackness was Glokta getting into power. If you can rely on anyone to work selflessly, it's him.
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Apr 20, 2010 23:42
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Bummey posted:Logen has some sort of supernatural ability
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Apr 26, 2010 18:12
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Ballsworthy posted:Possession probably wouldn't be the word I would choose, but yeah it seems possible that the transformation into the B9 is tied to his supernatural side. At the same time though he gains no supernatural ability (preternatural, sure, but not super) I didn't realise Abercrombie had referred to the "cold feeling" as far back as that too, that's incredibly impressive planning/foreshadowing for a first timer. Blimey.
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May 10, 2010 21:00
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I know it's a bit Out There to draw the comparison, but I think that Abercrombie has a bit of Pratchett in him with the whole shamefully well plotted books with a somewhat similar cast of characters in an increasingly well-drawn world. Try one of the Sam Vimes books if you haven't (good place to start probably being somewhere like Feet of Clay or Men at Arms). A more obvious influence would be Glen Cooke, for another series about miserable mercenary bastards being miserable mercenary bastards. Finally let myself start Best Served Cold. Every bit as good as the trilogy so far (100 pages in).
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Jun 8, 2010 22:19
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A Nice Boy posted:Yeah, what the hell should I read after Best Served Cold?
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Jun 30, 2010 22:35
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Yeah, I thought Best Served Cold was a bit... stretched. Felt like he was repeating himself in places, and there were just too many loving fights that spanned pages and pages. Still good, don't get me wrong, but only the first few hundred and last fifty pages were as good as I'd come to expect.
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Jul 27, 2010 19:08
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Hahah! BSC spoilers: Even if (if) Morveer had been sane, his catchphrase was "Caution first. Always." I mean that was all of who he was, he couldn't trust. It sounds like your problem with him is that you're just much more honest and reasonable than he was, so you have difficulty relating. If someone had said "I will never poison you" to Morveer he would have killed himself trying to avoid the places that person could have conceivable had access to. And he taught Day to think just like him, but evidently not quite as well.
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Aug 15, 2010 23:24
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Honestly I don't even know. I mean, what are he and Khalul even fighting about? Obv. Khalul will play up the "bringing him to justice" angle, but bending a whole nation to his whim to do so (and creating a legion of Eaters with all the casualties that necessitates) really puts him in no better stead. As far as I can make out, Bayaz topped Juvens (with the help of Kanedias?) then allied the Magi behind his false cause of vengeance and killed Tolomei and Kanedias to keep it a secret(?). We never found out why he killed Juvens in the first place, and he'll never explain it to one of the characters we spend most of our time with, as they're less than flies by his timescale. If any of the above is wrong please correct me, finished the trilogy about 6 months ago and haven't had the time to re-read.
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Sep 1, 2010 20:59
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Logen had a fantastic arc that pretty much encompassed everything you needed to know about him except: "Who is his dad" and maybe a clearer explanation of his berserking. That and the way the ending mirrored how we met him, I mean, that's pretty much a goodbye, with a very Abercrombian shrug of "sometimes you live through a big fall. More often you don't."
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Sep 26, 2010 00:27
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Hughmoris posted:I'm getting the vibe that he is a fan favorite around here but I'm not a big fan of Shenkt. I haven't read it in a while but he just struck me as a "super powered, totally awesome killer who never fucks up and has no flaws" type of character, which seems to go against every other character that Abercrombie creates. The book did show how much of a price (on several levels) he was forced to pay to be what he was, and how the fact that he was good gave him a massive weakness to exploit.
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Dec 16, 2010 00:42
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I (probably because I'm English) always pictured the Northmen as the Scots. Though I suppose axes (especially one of the ones on the front of The Heroes) were a more traditionally nordic weapon.
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Dec 29, 2010 02:06
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Logen in his youth was probably every bit the monster Fenris was, but with more relish, however he seems to want to be better, and carries a whole bunch of regret around with him. a lot of the third book was caught up with how he was attempting to atone for past sins, realising he couldn't, so resolving just to try his best. Dow is Black Dow, was Black Down and will be Black Dow. He doesn't regret anything, and wants more than he has.
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Jan 20, 2011 20:33
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The longer he drew out that duel, the more obvious his splattery death was. And I wanted Dow to stay King at that point, even though his entire character and everything about him made it obvious he couldn't be Got to: "I was a potter, the clay made my hands so soft, would you believe it? But then the wars came and things... happened" And I'm blubbing like a girl. Then Red Beck goes home and holy poo poo I literally have to stop reading. Think his teasing of the Bloody Nine was a pretty dick move, but ballsy. I know I'm the guy that said "Logen's dead, move on" but gently caress me I miss him. Total return to form, for my money. BSC was a bit of a flabby mis-step (if by no means a bad book) but this is right up there with the bookends of the trilogy, if not quite up to the insane threatening madness of Before They Are Hanged. Craw's whining occasionally got irritating, but other than that I don't think he put a foot wrong. Gorst's monologues were frequently really funny. Looking forward to his next trilogy already.
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Mar 11, 2011 00:38
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I'm a delicate little flower, apparently.
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Mar 11, 2011 21:02
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Yeah, chiming in on this: 1. Abercrombie hobbles himself awfully by making even the most likable characters objectively monstrous. I wouldn't have it any other way, but of the two characters most easily defined as "good" in his books (up to BSC spoilers): one was a mass-murderer of frankly epic proportions, the other was a revenge-driven incestuous warlord. 2. Rothfuss' prose is so accessible you could give his books to a twelve year old and they'd sit down and read. And because of this he's easily marketable as "Harry Potter for teens/grownups!", which is a drat fine market niche to occupy. I wouldn't worry about Joe, he made it into a top 10 best-seller list over in Blighty with The Heroes, so there's steam building underneath the guy.
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Mar 28, 2011 21:50
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Quite right. I suppose it's fitting I forgot about him.
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Mar 29, 2011 18:06
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I'm doing a re-read atm and yeah that early Logen ability really slapped me in the face. Likely Joe just realised it was a silly "get out of fights" card and ret-conned it, as it really is bringing a flame-thrower to a sword fight.
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Sep 22, 2011 16:00
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Trilogy Spoilers continue! In the first book as well Bayaz mentions that Kanedias was the last of the four to die. Then again, he though Tolomei was dead, too.
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Sep 23, 2011 00:09
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Cwapface posted:Is it best to start with The Blade Itself with this guy, or can I pick up The Heroes or something and still 'get it'? I've only just sort of gotten interested in fantasy after reading the first two books of ASoIaF (yes, because of the HBO series before you ask) and I'm very interested in this guy from what I've heard about him, but I'm kind of uncertain about jumping into another fantasy series before I finish A Dance with Dragons (which could easily be months from now; I'm an undisciplined reader). Also, the standalone books are standalone in the same way that a discworld book is standalone. i.e. The plot stands alone but the framework of the world and characters you encounter have likely come from earlier books.
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Sep 23, 2011 21:21
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The King has a thing for Brunettes. Probably still pining for the cripple's wife. Having finished my re-read of The Blade itself I'd recommend anyone go back and do the same. The sheer, workmanlike graft he put into writing those three books is wonderful, they fit together like a swiss watch.
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Sep 26, 2011 00:12
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I can't tell you for sure. I mean, the tone and prose isn't going to shift radically, but you've already read 1/3, what can finishing it off hurt?
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Sep 26, 2011 18:24
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You are a crazy person.
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Sep 27, 2011 12:27
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Above Our Own posted:Yeah, I don't disagree that his writing has notably improved in many areas and I'd still recommend all his work to anyone who likes fantasy. The problem is that he has kind of exhausted a lot of the settings, character types, and inverted tropes he seems to want to keep sticking with. I think Abercrombie is yet to really hit his stride, which -when you've written something as incredible as The First Law- is p. exciting.
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Dec 20, 2011 23:58
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Yeah Shenkt could make sense. That said if there's any mention of the bloody nine in the book then he needs to make an appearance, if only because it's seriously not cool to keep dangling the possible return like this.
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Feb 5, 2012 17:52
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Hahah! Sorry man that seemed really snarky. I didn't even notice your typo, honest 
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Feb 5, 2012 18:04
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Oh God don't gently caress this up Joe. That description could easily be Ferro, but we're approaching critical mass with the Bloody Nine trolling at this point. Evfedu fucked around with this message at 12:16 on Feb 14, 2012 |
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Feb 14, 2012 12:14
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If it's the most Enduring, Powerful and Popular character with the author then it's definitely Cosca.
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Feb 15, 2012 00:05
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The Supreme Court posted:If you still like any of the characters after a couple of books, you're doing well!
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Feb 29, 2012 22:16
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I don't think anyone has claimed that Abercrombie is James Joyce'in it up and all literature'in' and the like. Just, that if you're looking for the best Swords and Sorcery BS that's out there, The First Law is where you should go. I'd honestly be interested in some genuine discussion of the flaws in the books (bloated third act, riding-the-line portrayal of the lesbian princess), but I'm yet to see one.
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Feb 29, 2012 23:57
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This post contains a whole lotta spoilers and you shouldn't read it if you have any interest in reading the drat books. I actually had a lot of time for Ferro. You're right she wasn't a great character but I think that was a problem of necessity. Having her be both devil-blooded and the symbol of Khalul's victimization of the Gurkish was just trying to fit too much into one character. Perhaps she was initially meant to be two characters that got dovetailed. Same problem in reverse for Terez, really. I really liked the pinks thing when it turned out she was colourblind. Yeah, I know, telling rather than showing and hammering home the subtext but I still dug it.
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Mar 1, 2012 00:29
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Who are the two figures under The Makers' arms in the house Severard buys for Glokta's torturing-needs? Drives me nuts as he ties up most everything else related to the past, but all I can think is Tolomei and..?
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May 15, 2012 18:54
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Beastie posted:Is there ever given an explanation as to why the magic is leaking out of the world? Is it just a results of the gates to the other side being closed all those years ago? I know the spirits and Bayaz both say that magic is leaving this world but there never seems to be an explanation.
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May 22, 2012 21:58
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Counterpoint: Bloody Nine vs Fenris
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Jun 11, 2012 19:26
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I maintain that the third book was by far the weakest of the trilogy because he'd set himself far too much work to do and it came off as flabby, muddled and underwhelming in sections. Plus the climax was just over half way through the book and everything thereafter was going in a really strange direction, I realise that was the point, but still. I mean, it's still a five star book, and still better than BSC but... could have been better.
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Jun 21, 2012 22:06
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Oh my God It's Cosca again.
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Jul 11, 2012 13:55
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Recently finished a re-read of Best Served Cold and I'm thinking that, as opposed to my initial reaction, it might actually be the best thing Joe's written. Seriously blown away by how many risks he took.
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Jul 28, 2012 12:27
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Pretty much a "disparage MY FANTASY at your peril" sperg-post inbound! Above Our Own posted:Whereas Shenkt is shown wiping out dozens of people without any indication that his power has any kind of limit. Oh Snapple! posted:You had the right reaction. Abercrombie's big theme is that people don't change (and I've already gone into my opinions on that before so I'll leave it at that), so you pretty much feel like you should about it. You could say that his main theme is about the futility of attempting to effect major change as one man at ground level. But BSC was basically a study of the worth of mercy and kindness so I'm willing to give him time to grow with that one.
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Aug 28, 2012 19:53
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UncleMonkey posted:Holy poo poo holy poo poo holy poo poo holy poo poo holy poo poo holy poo poo
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Sep 5, 2012 21:23
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Finished my Abercrombie re-read two weeks early. It is truly the first world-est of all the problems.  
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Oct 6, 2012 15:41
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