[Abyss]

Just finished TBI and BTAH back to back. Good fun. While elements are fairly consistent with the usual fantasy trops, there are some points that are just great and JA writes an excellent action scene.

SPOILERS SPOILERS BLOODY SPOILERS
DRIPPING IN GORE SPOILERS OF WAR
SPOILERS WILL GUT SPOILERS YOU

Spoiler

It's not as tho the split-personality uber-barbarian warrior thing has not been done before, but i did think the interaction between Logen and Ferro was one of the strongest in the book. Jezal is your stereotypical 'elitist nobel officer in need of combat experience to become a decent human being' (Drake, Weber, RIngo and White include like one of these per mil sf book), but what ultimately happens to him at his first fight was poetic in its directness.


Glokta was by far my favourite character and plot and the most original of the book. Tottaly enjoyed his POV, his supporting cast, and his plot lines.

JA is nicely adept and not giving his characters or plots happy endings.

Am enjoying the series. Will buy the next one.

- Abyss, aka The Bloody Liver.

[stone monkey]

I rather like these books but, somewhat like Scott Lynch's work imo, I find that the only thing they really have going for them is their characterisation, as they're otherwise a bit meh. I do however find a fantasy novel that's populated by really cynical people - whose cynicism is actually useful to them - to be quite refreshing.

It's a shame they're still being portrayed as essentially damaged individuals, as in the real world people who are cynical often reach that conclusion from merely observing the way the world works...

[Aptorian]

I've only read the first book and while I also thought it brought nothing new, I really did enjoy the Glotka and barbarian parts.

I don't know if it was that well pulled off when ninefingers guy went skizo, should have been some more hints or something, but it was definently cool. Allthough you just know if ninefingers had been a SE character the last fight would have been like Grunts unit let loose in that "meat house" in MoI, not just 4-5 dead

While the Glotka things were by far the most interesting character wise, the idea of intelligent inquestion guy has been done over and over in the Warhammer 40k novels.

[Abyss]

Aptorian;208072 said:

...While the Glotka things were by far the most interesting character wise, the idea of intelligent inquestion guy has been done over and over in the Warhammer 40k novels.

It was done decades ago by Gene Wolf. If we only ever gave up the love for fantasy when an author did something truly original, this would be a dead genre.

Fundamentally, BTAH is basically a widget search, a war story, and a palace intrigue story. We've seen them all before, in many, many ways.

All i ask is that the author entertain me, have a logical flow to the story, and avoid predictability, and not make me wait years until the next novel. JA accomplishes this, and since the third/final novel already has a pub date of Spring 2008, he gets my dollars.

It's funny - at times i think that it's hard to read some of the mad brilliant scope of SE's books - ie: dragons, explosives and marines raiding cities and so on - , and then still be entertained by the finale of, by example TBI,

MILD SPOILERS SPOILER WARNING SPOILER
NOT TERRIBLY REVEALING BUT SIDEWAYS
FINALE OF THE BLADE ITSELF SPOILERS

Spoiler

which is basically a straightforward chasefightkill scene involving a limited number of characters in a medieval city setting that is in no way original, and isn't even that significant to the overall plot, except that it advances the character arcs.

But in execution, i totally enjoyed it.

- Abyss, loves a good excution, especially if they serve snacks!

[The Tyrant Lizard]

I loved both the books and am looking forward to the third. My favourite parts were the ones involving Threetrees and his crew. They are to my mind the hardest bunch I can think of, and must have been doubly tough when they were led by Ninefingers.
I think it's great the way he bashed them all, but would think the bloody nine had a hand in it...

[MecnunK]

I started reading it after seeing something about it on this forum and woul dtend to agree that it is not in the same league as erikson, GRRM or even Jordan but is enjoyable enough. Just finished teh 1st book and onto teh second.

Havent seen any original concepts as such in the storyline as yet but characters seem pretty good and originalish...

[aidan]

I was a big fan of The Blade Itself (you can find my review HERE) and Before They Are Hanged. What impressed me the most about the novels, much like many others here, were the characters. Abercrombie did a terrific job of creating three protagonists that you should loathe, but you somehow find yourself rooting for them.

Spoiler

Jezal and Glokta were perfect foils, so it was always interesting to see the similarities that would pop up between them. I always looked at Jezal and being what Glokta would have become if he had not been tortured as a young man. I loved that Logen, the with the most evil and worst reputation within the world the story was set in, was probably the only really genuine and trustworthy character in the novel. This also extended to his other buddies from the north. Logen and his crew were probably the only ones I would ever trust with my life. Pretty good for nothing but a bunch of unruly babarians.

I found the pacing of the two novels a little slow, but the character building more than made up for it and I trust that Abercrombie will be bringing it to a head in the final volume of the series (which I hope to be reading sometime in the next couple of months).

I didn't really know what to expect of Abercrombie's novels when I first picked them up. I had heard a lot of hype about them, but somehow missed The Blade Itself when it was first released. But what I found didn't let me down in the least. Just like Joe himself, the books are full of charisma, charm and damn dastardly humour. They'll just as likely make you laugh as they will tear your heart out.

Can't wait to see where he takes us from here on out. It's also cool to hear that he's writing a couple of standalones set in the same world as The First Law trilogy. A standalone might force him to increase the pace a little bit and focus more on the action, which could be a good thing.

[Obdigore]

So, I received the copy from Pat (ty so much, again) and it was very very enjoyable.

Spoilers for first book:

Spoiler

I had thought three and his 'named men' were going to run into nine and become the bodyguards of wizard-boy... maybe in book 3 since it appears in book two the wizard and yellow-eye and schitzo and winner-boy are off with navigator to the end of the world? or something?

Anyone know if the Before they are Hanged is coming out soon in the US, or will I have to order from canada/uk?

[MecnunK]

Finished the second one...still to find any original concepts in here. Although I feel characters are okay they still a little 2-dimensional..some essential ingredient is missing and I cant put my finger on it.. they are bit I dunno eddings-esque in some ways but not as bad..

[murphy72]

Obdigore;211529 said:

So, I received the copy from Pat (ty so much, again) and it was very very enjoyable.

Spoilers for first book:

Spoiler

I had thought three and his 'named men' were going to run into nine and become the bodyguards of wizard-boy... maybe in book 3 since it appears in book two the wizard and yellow-eye and schitzo and winner-boy are off with navigator to the end of the world? or something?

Anyone know if the Before they are Hanged is coming out soon in the US, or will I have to order from canada/uk?

They're both listed on Amazon US.

[Werthead]

I believe that Before They Are Hanged is due in March 2008 and Last Argument of Kings in September 2008.

Last Argument of Kings will hit the UK in March 2008 and Best Served Cold (a stand-alone set in the same world) will appear in May 2009.

[kcf]

I just finished up The Blade Itself - I really enjoyed it (full review). I think that the writing style and humor of it just clicks with me.

I also did a short interview with Joe for any that are interested.

Now I just need to get my hands on the next two books.

[Dag]

Bought the book based on your recomendations. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. Agree that it offers nothing spectacularly new, but Abercrombie has really good touch when it comes to creating and developing characters.