Author<\/strong> – Joe Abercrombie<\/a><\/p>\n Paperback<\/strong> Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he knows how close a trilogy with panache. The final novel in The First Law<\/strong> trilogy, Last Argument of Kings<\/strong> is without a doubt the strongest novel in the cycle and, indeed, one of the strongest finishes to a trilogy I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve come across in a long time. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s refreshing to find an author who can not only finish a story in three books (a rarity in the fantasy genre these days, it seems) but to also do so in a satisfying manner. And truly it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the characters that rule this novel. The Northmen are the stars of the first half of the novel. Abercrombie manages to take folk who, when handled many other authors, would appear as nothing more than simple minded, violent brutes, and manages to make the reader care about them deeply. The Dogman, Black Dow, Logen Ninefingers and the rest of their crew are not good people – they’ve killed more men than can be counted – and yet the reader will shed tears as they do, will feel each blow to the gut, and will laugh a black laugh at their humour. The First Law<\/strong> do not have “good guys” and “bad guys”, instead it has people; plain and true people, as flawed and real as you or I.<\/p>\n The second half of the novel, which is essentially nothing more (or less) than one epic brushstroke of brutal warfare, belongs to the heroes (and antiheroes) of the Union. Sand dan Glokta, a favourite of mine through the first two novels, steals the show and further cements his place as one of fiction\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most interesting and intriguing characters. Jezal dan Luthar, such an unlikable bastard in the first two novels, goes through some momentous character shifts and actually comes out the other end as a likeable character with more depth than Abercrombie let on at the start.<\/p>\n If R.A. Salvatore’s fight scenes are a beautifully choreographed fight scene from a Hollywood martial arts flick \u00e2\u20ac\u201c fun to watch, but ultimately no more than a delicate dance between actors \u00e2\u20ac\u201c then Abercrombie’s are the best of the best from the UFC \u00e2\u20ac\u201c raw, visceral and real; sure to leave you stiff and sore when you wake the next morning, each blow absorbed as surely by the reader as the contestants in the bout. One fight in particular, near the middle of the novel, kept me up well past my bedtime and surely ranks near the top of the best single combat scenes I’ve experienced in all my years reading Fantasy. <\/p>\n I was critical of the first two novels, The Blade Itself<\/strong> and Before They Are Hanged<\/strong>, and their lethargic pacing but am happy to report that Last Argument of Kings<\/strong> doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t suffer in the same way. In fact, the final volume of the trilogy helped me appreciate Abercrombie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s delicate plotting throughout the earlier volumes. Abercrombie often says that The First Law<\/strong> should be viewed as one novel in three volumes (similar to Tolkien\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s The Lord of the Rings<\/strong>) instead of a standard trilogy and I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t agree more. The First Law<\/strong> will have its greatest impact when read in one continuous fell swoop. <\/p>\n The First Law<\/strong> ends much as it begins: raw, gritty and full of humanity. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to tell whether the characters, and the world they live in, is truly any better off for their efforts; in fact, one might wonder if they aren’t just all a little worse for wear. Running against the grain (as he so often does) Abercrombie eschews the happy, perfect ending, instead offering a fittingly ragged resolution sure to eke it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s way into further novels set in the universe. <\/p>\n With the delay of Pat Rothfuss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 next novel, The Wise Man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Fear<\/strong>, and the slightly disappointing sophomore effort from Scott Lynch, Red Seas Under Red Skies<\/strong>, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s safe to say that Joe Abercrombie has cemented himself at the top of the heap as one of the most consistent, fresh and exciting new voices in fantasy. With Last Argument of Kings<\/strong> Abercrombie has addressed the few criticisms I had of the first two novels (slow pacing being the biggest killer) and he’s set the bar high for his next novel, Best Served Cold<\/strong>, though surely he’s well prepared for the challenge.<\/p>\n Early on in the life of A Dribble of Ink<\/strong> I decided I wouldn’t attach numerical values to my reviews, but if I were<\/em> to thrust such an arbitrary label upon Last Argument of Kings<\/strong>, it would probably look much like a 9.9\/10. If only to spite Joe and his quest for the perfect grade…<\/p>\n Oh yeah, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still no map.<\/p>\n Also on A Dribble of Ink<\/strong> are reviews of The Blade Itself<\/strong> (HERE<\/a>), Before They Are Hanged<\/strong> (HERE<\/a>) and two interviews with Joe (HERE<\/a> and HERE<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last Argument of Kings Author – Joe Abercrombie Paperback Pages: 544 pages Publisher: Gollancz Release Date: March 20th, 2008 ISBN-10: 0575077905 ISBN-13: 978-0575077904 Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he knows how close a trilogy with panache. The final novel in The First Law trilogy, Last Argument of Kings is without a doubt the… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\nPages:<\/strong> 544 pages
\nPublisher:<\/strong> Gollancz
\nRelease Date:<\/strong> March 20th, 2008
\nISBN-10:<\/strong> 0575077905
\nISBN-13:<\/strong> 978-0575077904<\/p>\n
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\nLast Argument of Kings<\/strong> aims at bringing everything full circle and succeeds wildly. Abercrombie has often stated that The First Law<\/strong> is his riff on all the typical fantasy tropes, twisting them in an ever so subtle satire and this final novel is no exception. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear, once you turn the final page, that Abercrombie had the story firmly under his thumb through the entire trilogy. Small twists, hinted at in the very first pages of The Blade Itself<\/strong>, come full circle and are sure to leave readers shaking their heads in amazement at Abercrombie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clever control. The d\u00e2\u20ac\u2122enouement (which is anything but calm and comforting) holds as many twists, knives-in-the-back and balls-to-the-wall fights as the rest of the story and, as true intentions are revealed, Abercrombie forces the reader to truly question the concepts of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153evil.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n